World Cup 86: Roleplay Thread

by **Turori** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 5:37 pm

Nigel's Army gets Anonymous Donation

Nigel's Army Headquarters, Eelandii, Turori :: Turorian supporters group "Nigel's Army" has received an anonymous financial donation from an unknown source that has reportedly given the supporters group a 'near limitless' ability to decorate the stands for Turorian matches both within the Island Emirate and abroad.

While there have always been pockets of Neon-Green Clad Nigel's spotted at Turorian matches throughout the multiverse, Nigel's Army has begun running a new scheme that allows members of the supporters group to apply for tickets to Turorian away matches on the World Cup 86 Qualifying schedule and receive complementary transportation to and from the country where the match is played in addition to the cost of the ticket covered by Nigel's Army. It has already resulted in a marked increase in Neon Green in the stands at Turorian away games while the impact on Turorian home matches has been even greater.

Since Round 5 of World Cup 86 Qualifying, Nigel's Army has handed out free items to all Turorian supporters entering the gates with a different item being passed out during each match. Thus far Nigel's Army has given out Neon-Green colored T-Shirts, Rally Towels, Beach Towels, Scarves and hats to supporters at a variety of venues with plans for a full on Jersey-giveaway day later on in the World Cup Qualifying Schedule.

Of course, one of the T-shirts was a classic "Win it for Nigel" vintage inspired T-Shirt that had come back into popularity amongst Nigelians as well as Turori National Team supporters in recent seasons after being dismissed in prior cycles due to sending the wrong message.

While the idea that an all-powerful Eel named Nigel was the true being at the center of all things Turori may have simply perpetuated from the Dreamed Realm during the 68th World Cup Cycle, many latched onto the idea that Nigel was indeed the driving force behind the everyday Turorian. Some believed that Nigel himself was a creature from the Dreamed Realm that the everyday Turorian could not see but was both all-powerful and ever-present. Nigel became the figurehead of Religions and Cults, Politics and Sports. Nigel's Army was the result on the sporting side and even the Turori National Team have incorporated Nigel Green as a trim color on their kits - officially as a nod to their supporters club and not intended as an endorsement of any religious or political variations of the Nigel Movement.

While news clippings from the time of Nigels 'Arrival' in Turori seem to point to the obvious tongue-in-cheek acceptance of the light-hearted national figurehead, Nigelista's have conveniently swept away the backstory associated with Nigel's origin and the existince of the Lime Green Electric Eel has become an accepted part of Turorian popular culture.

Old Turori National Reporting wrote:
"We've always felt like our representatives are utterly useless and really don't do anything" one Turorian citizen was quoted as saying, "It makes sense that there is a more powerful creature in the chain somewhere, that is actually running the show - and everything else is just a show."

However, critics pointed to the more humorous intent of the compendium as evidence that the report wasn't intended to be a reveal of anything - but more a whimsical fantasy used by corrupt media members to create a hub-bub, drawing attention to their publication and ultimately increasing their revenue stream. Be as it may, some Turorians were not convinced.

"All lies are grounded in some kind of truth" another Turorian was quoted, "I wouldn't be surprised if Nigel is just an Alias that our giant lime-green leader is using, to protect his or - more likely, her anonymity." Another citizen agreed, "I'm sure there is someone that we don't know about pulling the strings. It makes sense for it to be a giant Eel too. I'm not sure why else anyone would make their sports mascot a slimy swimmy thingamajig, or name a town 'Eelandii'. Its kind of silly. But thats our wee Island Emirate and we don't mind so much who is pulling the strings. If its a giant lime-green electrical eel called Nigel, so be it. If Nigel can deliver a World Cup championship to us, who cares.

Nearly 20 cycles on, Nigel has yet to deliver that long-sought World Cup Title to the Island Emirate. Turori have, however, broken their own concrete ceiling that had stood for decades when they finally advanced from the World Cup Quarter Finals against Ethane during World Cup 81. With that long impeding barrier behind them, it seems the Sky may indeed be the limit for the Turori National Team. With Nigel's Army sending Turorian fans donned in Neon Green throughout the Multiverse, the Turori National Team will never feel far from home on their quest to make World Cup 86 the first World Cup where they come home with the winner's hardware in tow.

by **Audioslavia** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 5:38 pm

Potato Blight
Audioslavia have not unlocked the secrets of the potato and may pay the ultimate price.

For all but a few days of qualifying, Audioslavia’s national football team has been staring at the arse of a potato. When we win, the potato also wins. When we lose, the potato loses. The only respite we’ve gotten from Potatohog Day has been for the two matchups between Poafmersia and Audioslavia, in which the potatoes win and we don’t. Poafmersia overcame the Bulls on matchday one at the 'fortress' of the Arena Kirola and did so again at the Libira on Friday evening. Fortunately for us, the Holy Empire have graciously mashed the potatoes almost immediately after they take three points off of the Bulls, and in defeating the struggling Silver Commonwealth home and away, the Bulls have managed to just about keep pace with Poafmersia.

Ordinarily, eight wins from eleven games should be good enough for a qualification spot. In group six, that ratio doesn’t quite cut the potato.

Sean Patterick cut an exasperated figure in the post-game press conference on Monday night. With the Silver Commonwealth game in the rear-view mirror and the Bulls level on points with Poafmersia, albeit behind on head-to-head results, Patterick got defensive when asked about Audioslavia’s chances.

“Obviously it’s out of our hands. If it’s out of our hands, it’s out of our hands. All we can do is exactly what we did in the first half. We go to each and every team here and we beat them. If we can get a point from The Holy Empire I’ll be happy. We’re relying on all the other teams to play less effectively against us than they do against the Potatoes. That’s just… that’s just how it is”

Audioslavia’s next two fixtures are perilous, with an eerie trip to Flynn Arena to (we hope) make it four wins on the bounce against Euran Oceania Territories before hosting ‘they used to be good: ask your grandpa’ Delaclava on matchday thirteen. Poafmersia, meanwhile, will be hosting directionless bantamweight one-offs Southwest Eastnorth and have a home fixture against fixtures and fittings fledglings Sylestone. It will almost certainly be six points for Poafmersia. Audioslavia will need to cling to the Red Panda’s tail. Lose sight now, and it'll be the Cup of Harmony for Audioslavia and, most likely, Sean Patterick's head (figuratively) rolling out of the stadium like some kind of rolling stem tuber.

by **Huayramarca** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 6:35 pm

Part 1., Part 2., Part 3., Part 4., Part 5., Part 6., Part 7., Part 8., Part 9.

Rewind.

Part 10., Part 11., Part 12., Part 13., Part 14 A., Part 14 B, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20

Ñucanchi Ñan - Part 21.

Illimani National Park, Huayrasuyo Department. - 24/04/1980 - 4:30 P.M.

“Ñucanchi Ñan” a phrase coming from the Quechua language that means, literally, “Our path” A term that Marta coined with precision since it was her vision for Huayramarca, a clear path for the future of every citizen, no matter if they would be Serrano, Costeño, Selvático, they all are under one flag, the bicolor Huayramarcan flag soaring in the air as a Condor does over the skies, flying with dignity and pride. Another of her purposes, one that was firm after her son almost lost his life due to police brutality, was to throw Hugo Mina away from power, that day was close to happen as everybody in the social movement was thinking, but Marta never thought that said day would be today.

Marta woke up at 5:40 A.M. her child was crying for milk, she took one feeding bottle she prepared since last night on the fridge for her son, Juanito, who had calmed down after some minutes, then Martha put a pacifier on him and then decided to turn her phone on, E-Quipu was flooded with notifications from ÑÑ chats, but there was a particular one worthy of interest for her, she clicked on Alan’s chat and said “We have found Hugo Mina on the Illimani National Park, drilling operations are about to commence, he’s hidden due to fears on Ñucanchi Ñan sabotaging the plan.” Of course, Mina’s ambitions were high in order to get, at least, a couple of hundreds of millions of Intis, but lies doesn’t last forever nor his attempts to corrupt everybody near him. Alan’s one of those persons fed up of Mina’s corruption, hence he has cooperated a lot with ÑÑ in order to send troops to die to the faraway San Carlos Islands while the coup takes place.

Marta wasn’t having any preparations on what to do after the coup, she didn’t figured out that it’d be too soon, in fact, nobody on Ñucanchi Ñan was thinking remotely on what to do for the act of power transition, hence, it’d be a last minute meeting to orchestrate it all. Buendía called Marta and said “I was trying to get in touch with you since a couple of hours, Alan said that Mina has been found at the Illimani National Park, we need to act and try to do something!” Marta said “We should meet with Alan; shall we meet on Sopocachi?” Buendía replied in agreement “Of course, I’m driving now from Tulcán, I shall be at the district in some minutes, since I left minutes before midnight” Marta replied “Woah, take care, you might fall asleep due to the lack of sleeping!” Buendía said “Meh, nothing that a bit of caffeine can’t solve.” While drinking some coffee from a thermal bottle.” “I’ll dress up!” said Marta before hanging off the phone and taking a quick shower.

Walter received a call from Marta, she asked if he could keep trace of Mina’s communications while they would prepare the attack at the park. Walter said that he could do, but not at all since he doesn’t knows which resources Mina would be using for communication.” Marta said “Just test every way possible, it’s a trial and mistake situation, we need to act fast.” Walter agreed and tried to hack social accounts from Mina to gain access, E-Quipu as well, in order to see movements, allegiances and every detail that would be useful to block him completely and tie to what he would have in said place.” Mina’s communications are mainly against the Police, but Ñucanchi Ñan has earned an important support in the form of Alan, representing the army, in this case it’d be a simple case of a weak government outnumbered and outpowered in every aspect possible, no way to win that clash.

Alan called his contacts at Huayramarca’s Metropolitan District in order to request movements to the Illimani National Park, including a column of sharpshooters that would get into the nearby hills of the park, expecting the right moment to cold-blood-shot Mina on sight. It wasn’t something that would help the mission the fact that winter was about to begin in Huayramarca, hence, winds could deflect the trajectory of the shot, but that’d be something that the shooter would have to deal with and solve with their knowledge on the matter. A column of at least 1,000 soldiers were moving to the park, while some Ñucanchi Ñan protesters were heading to the Palacio del Altiplano, protected with some army members, in order to seize the facilities, hence, taking possession of power in a not-so-symbolic act.

Marta was ready, she walked to the main square of Sopocachi, Allan was waiting for her already while Buendía was on the corner, with his van, seeing if everything was OK to proceed with the meeting. Buendía said “Morning! Any news?” Both replied “Morning!” while Alan continued “Well, a mobilization of soldiers is heading to the contours of the Illimani National Park in order to keep visual control of our objective, also, a column of soldiers is heading to the Palacio del Altiplano in order to help some designated ÑÑ people to seize the palace when we do what we plan.” All agreed with that, they haven’t considerate any specific outcome, but control was being secured at all means, hence, no way to let the moment vanish away.

The trio went to Walter’s flat in order to ask for information about Mina, he gathered a couple of data that he seemed irrelevant, but told about it to Alan: “I see some calls made to HP” Then, Alan replied “Huamán Parra…” Then, Buendía said “What’s this?” Alan replied “Commissioning Agent of the Huayramarcan Police” Walter said “Apparently, he asked about police mobilization to the zone, at least, two busses with officers.” Alan said “Well, apparently he wants a last fight, he doesn’t want this to let it go that easy” Marta said “Bloodbath… Oh no.” Buendía said “It’s something inevitable in revolutions, corrupt factual powers won’t let things go that easy, they won’t be defeated if there’s not a fight in between that outcome.” Martha just prayed to God and asking for protection and blessing.

They took some hours planning on what to do and how to attack Mina in case of need, sharpshooters would be a nice idea in order to ack in case of an unexpected happening occurring there, weather conditions didn’t seemed that bad for the day, it was clear skies forecasting and no wind, something a bit weird considering the time of the year that Huayramarca’s living right now. More warrants for the process would happen as Walter managed to get screen mirroring of what Mina was doing at the moment, then, the team burst in happiness since they got complete control and knowledge of his movements. Alan said “Excellent move… Tell me your name again?” “Walter, to your services.” Said while handshaking Alan. They took a brunch before leaving to the Illimani National Park in a Humvee, protected by several others with personnel on the turrets waving the Huayramarcan flag and screaming “Today, Huayramarca will be free forever and ever!” People went out of their houses and applauded those cars, they were aware that the day many Serranos seemed impossible to occur was today, finally, some were even crying at the sole sight of said thought, it was a so needed change for this nation.

As they approached the Huayrasuyo’s Department limit, they saw suspicious moves from Mina on his phone, messaging the people to start drilling over the park now. Then, he texted, “A group of ranchers are coming down, prepare guns.” Walter said “The hotel owners militia is going there, Alan turned his face and wasn’t needed for him to ask a question, his face was demanding one… Buendía said “The hotel owners are a group of people against the drilling program, they have a militia for themselves in order to defend their lands.” Alan said “Oh, well. More support won’t harm us.” The Humvees accelerated towards the place, it was near, but they found a column of ÑÑ followers, they stopped and decided to walk with them in order to face Mina.

The column approached and then, Hugo Mina was there, in his somewhat damaged appearance after being drunk and doped for some days, he had something weird on his clothes, they were suspecting that it’d be a bomb or some explosive artifact, while, the hotel militia killed some police officers while Allan was visually inspecting Hugo Mina, he knew he had a bomb, hence he texted people and asked some, in a way that Mina didn’t noticed, to get away from the area, while asking a sharpshooter to take right stance at Mina’s head. The sharpshooter located Mina’s head, Alan gave the order and pulled off the trigger…

by **Independent Athletes from Quebec** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 6:41 pm

Running Up That Hill

PART 0 (28) - Prologue - 思ひで

The twin cities of Saint John-Habpo lie proudly on the southwestern end of Acadie province, which holds four coves, two ports and a comfortable 58km distance from Quebecois-Semar borders. 'Tis the city that's traditionally known for its maritime heritage, draped by all the factories that lie in both cities, and also being working class in origin. This city's where the immigrants from Sealtainn Eireann who, in the post-conquest eras of 1700s, had immigrated to live alongside the indigenous peoples and the Anglophone-Quebecois whose portal closure had left them with little choice but to be ruled as His Majesty's subjects.

Such continued over the course of time, as the Quebecois Commonwealth expanded and Quebec City welcomed immigrants coming from them and few others- this had usually meant Schottians in this region- to add further intrigue into the industrialised cities. This was where the earliest movements of Quebecois labour activism and Marxism reigned and eventually moved westwards to Quebec City and Montreal. Nowadays, much of what existed of their labour class heritage and traditions continued into its sports teams, such as the legendary Saint John Steelers of QFL and tragic, tragic Saint John Green Sox of QBO, and the city kept going.

On the western, Habpo half of the twin cities, the Quincentennial Tower situates in the very edge of the Southwark Pier, as it delivers cinematographic views of the Muhak Bay and dozens of ferries that connects the city of 1.35 million to various towns on the other side of the Fundy, few Semar cities further south and southeast, and of course Halifax. The twin cities have many modern buildings, especially those around the Southwark Pier that were redeveloped back in 2010s and 2020s, and this was the most stunning one among them. 68 stories and 246m tall, the Quincentennial Tower held many companies' head offices on the first forty-four floors and a residence hotel right above that.

And that's where we head once again. Asher and Myeong-Shin were now well-aged, long over the growing pains and initial hurdles that their twenties had posed, and now all seemed fairly straightforward as they just broke their forties. Here, in Myeong-Shin's residence apartment at the sixty-third floor, all looked much more settled. It was there where the Hall of Famer, first year post-retirement, stayed while working as a hitting coach for the Imperial League dweller Saint John Green Sox. Given that his wife Naomi and their three children were still living back in Kingston, there weren't a lot of furniture in his suite. Guests were few and far between, as he preferred to meet fellow members of the coaching staff and the players outside, and he of course stayed faithful to his wife of fifteen years. Still, there were just enough amenities and furnitures for a guest, whether a friend or a high school/collegiate prospect staying over. They were usually housed in the guest room, where enough teas existed and wifi was decent enough for office work if needed.

Sitting on their foldable chairs, Heo Myeong-Shin and Asher Lundrigan sat in the living room to watch the midday view of the Fundy, and reflected back. The fact that they both lived in the southwestern Acadie had made their lives a lot easier to coordinate, and the fact that the Heo children were slightly older than the Lundrigan pair also helped it as well.

‘The life isn’t bad for you nowadays, my friend,’ said Asher, who was now quite aged at 40. The duties of being a parent to three sports-playing children, on top of having a professional career that still required travelling every once in a while, has taken quite a bit of age out of him. ‘After the past few years of gauging when’s the right time to just let it go, now you’re free and all that.’

‘The career isn’t over yet, as you have found out way before,’ Myeong-Shin chuckled, slightly feeling older after hearing that remark. Always being that son of late Maureen Turner and Heo Dong-Soo, he lived like a gregarious man he could have been. Of course, he stayed faithful to Naomi Goldbloom, his high school sweetheart, the previous twenty-five years, but their relationship was built on societal expectations and both sides of course easily accepted such. ‘Everybody has careers these days, as they had been doing so all twenty-first century long. You just don’t bank it all, resolutely retire in the countryside and not be seen much outside the region for decades.’

‘Certainly.’ Asher nodded, sipping a cup of coffee while looking at the view. Who would have thought he, a man of many sails and flights, would end up living in Saint-John-Upon-Battersea like his father-in-law did? He certainly wouldn’t have believed it- that’s not something that the sixteen year old himself had in mine, nor a twenty-three year old himself. But then, sometimes life would give you lemons and you have to work around it. That’s the difference between the two- it something Myeong-Shin didn’t have to do so much, but Asher had to do. Regardless, both sides were happy about how things went, and that’s what mattered the most.

‘Anyway, how’s the television series going?’ asked Myeong-Shin, giving his friend a wink over something that was likely discussed a while back. ‘The one on Archduke Franz and Archduchess Larissa? The one the Canon Studios expect to screen it?’

‘Oh, the Agrippa’s Sapphire?’ Asher responded, thinking back to the latest project he undertook. The life in the countryside had come with their downsides in that there would be less work he could undertake in his own right. ‘It’s going alright...I do not know how happy the Unified Republics’ Government are going to feel about it, nor the restorationists themselves. They may feel happy this is a historical epic, but enough political dynamites exist no matter where.’

‘Always,’ nodded Myeong-Shin. Being a history professor’s son, and a comparative literature student at Universite du Saguenay, had meant that he was especially aware of political landmines. His father, a longtime Court Historian who spent his last two decades working on the Anthologies of the Queen Christine II, reminded him that all too dearly. ‘But everything’s a risk. You’re of course familiar with the whole problem of how and whose take to talk about a historical event so grand and important to people’s lives to this point on. It’s not going to change. At least the Siovanijans and Teus are fine about it. We all know their own success stories. Southern Rushmori War will always be a bit more complicated alley to talk about.’
‘Amen to that,’ Asher stepped in, thinking of a better way to explain his situation. ‘Speaking of those, this reminds me of that time when Eileen and I travelled on the 100th Anniversary Train that time-’

Of course, before they were to turn any further, Asher’s golden handheld clock chimed, let out a rang and reminded the two to go to the lobby. Apparently there was an important parcel to handle, and it required all four hands to move upstairs. Anyhow, this is where we are going to return to the present-time, of May 2045...

World Cup 81/82/83/84

Second half starts with a blip
by Oliver Stanley
The Post Soccer Correspondent

The Commonwealth National Team dropped points for only the second time in qualifying with a 1-1 draw against Cheergirls at the Sportsmen's Park.

The result was a dramatic turnaround for the visitors, who were beaten on matchday 2 at 7-0 behind an Annabeth Westmoreland hat-trick. This time around, they showed far more organization and determination against the Bees, who fielded the 'second' team for the opening doubleheader of matches; in the opener of the the fortnight, they defeated TOTEL 6-1.

BP find themselves still atop the Group 18 table, tied with Savojarna on 28 points but having a victory in hand, with both sides 6 points clear of Mercedini, the next opponent on the schedule when the NT travel to Zoloroni.

The Golden Eagles will look to join South Covello and Nephara as the only nations to have completed the double over Baker Park in WCQ, and cut the gap between the sides to just 3 points.

Ichi Tuzzio will name a full strength squad for the first ever visit to the Zolorini Sports City Stadium, in addition to the visit of Murphtannia at President's Park on matchday 13.

by **New Lusitania and the Algarves** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 6:59 pm

STL|Serviços de Transmissão Lusitana
Sport | Football|
World Cup 86 Qualifiers

WHO COULD SPLIT THEM APART?
Matchdays 10 & 11 Review:
Minarchist Free State 1-4 New Lusitania (Freedom Stadium - Att: 29 764)
New Lusitania 4-4 Terre Septentrionale (Estádio d'Anta do Dragão, Porto - Att: 53 256)

The second batch of games rolled around with New Lusitania having to travel to the Minarchists. Following a defeat in Madeira on the first matchday, the Selecção were motivated and with a score to settle. The main side mainly stayed on as an extra precaution although due to the following match Silveira was out for Paciência and Cancela Left for Pedralva.
The match soon got underway to some immediate tussles to the ball which almost gave Fawkes a goal. The tables would turn soon enough and it would be New Lusitania scoring the first one - Paciência getting his third as Jota passed it to the side when entering the box as the Guimarães forward struck it in well.
Twenty minutes later, a throw-in would start the play for the second goal as a defensive mistake cost the home side dearly and Horta seized the opportunity to get it in to Jota who sent the ball flying into the net as the away crowd celebrated to a silent stadium. A twist to the tale came in before halftime during stoppages when Fawkes finally got the goal he deserved and pulled one back as he put the goalkeeper stretching but not making it enough to stop it.
Following halftime there was a brief moment of calm proceedings in which neither team particularly threatened the other. The third goal would come in on seventh minutes as a subbed-on Nevais shot the ball up forward to a rushing Gama who skilfully dribbled pass the defence and got the shot he needed to score. The game was already on it's final breath when we saw the last goal which was credited to Guerra who was at the right place at the right time with a header following a corner taken by Gama who had curved it into the box where his teammates had waited. The whistle soon blew and a win like that certainly did give a good confidence boost to the team who definitely needed it considering their next game - Terre Septentrionale. The match would be in the Invict City of Porto even though the team were all but undefeatable at the ground, being a location of plenty of heartbreak and pain in the stadium short history. Despite good games by all in the previous match, Cancela and Silveira were back as was Azinheira to give the Northmen the full first team to get through.
The game was nothing short of a classic match where the two teams couldn't be told apart. Much to the discontent of the Portuenses, Terre Septentrionale would be the first to score with the long named Cwierczakiewiczowa putting it in with might as the score was leaning towards the away side. The Selecção were quick to react however and before long Silveira had put one in with a volley after a cross hailing from Fernando to make it all square again.
Between the action and tongue-tied commentators and pundits throughout the lands the game also had tremendous pressure and some controversy as the team's also weren't afraid to get stuck in and steal the ball resulting in a few disagreements, settlements and bookings. One such was Leiteiro's attack from behind on Kolodziejczyk giving him a yellow card.
By thirty-five minutes of play they'd done it again and that conceded free-kick made some difference as the Waclawczyk curved it into the top right hand side of the net with Patríce just touching it. In injury time, New Lusitania became determined to be in a reasonable position come the second half and Veiga's high flyer was critical to make it happen as he lifted the ball and shot it with some flair in a night where goals had not only been plentiful they had been showcased with extremely high quality from both sides. The second half was a perfect continuation of the first with more of the same, that being for the fans an exciting, gut-wrenching experience as leads, trails, crosses, shots all made differences to a game that just seemed to escalate into new heights. New Lusitania finally put their foot forward and took the lead for the first time in the match. Substitute Nevais lifted the ball high in the air to a rushing Fernando who got behind the defenders with Niedzwiecki failing to measure the ball's landing perfectly despite attempting the clearance. With this in mind, the team captain managed to control it with his foot well enough to put it in, in what most agreed was pure instinct. The Northmen were unfazed even if no matter the result and pushed on, reaping results when texan McCracken got one in off the post. Closing statements in the last twenty minutes and New Lusitania pressed on - a pair of fresh legs in Luís Miguel seemed to have made things better in the left flank in a bizarre substitution and made it possible to get a corner on seventy six minutes of play. An expert yet textbook header from Cancela caught some off and the ball sailed in to make it 4-3. However, heartbreak as five minutes later young substitute Kordic got one of his first goals for his country by exploiting a defensive mistake by the goalscorer, showing the highs and lows of a footballing career. 4-4 but it wasn't over yet - Terre Septentrionale hit the post and the bar and New Lusitania had a controversial yet well decided offside goal by Jota. In the end both teams certainly wanted a lot more from this match but the result was definitely the fairest.
After another hectic international break, we caught up with Veiga who seems to be having a good season and representation in this qualifying run. "The team's slowly falling into place now... hopefully" he started "and when you're playing games like this and doing well it's just one of the best feelings out there". On the offside decision his opinion was that "it was a bit close to call and I would've loved us to have won the match but when we see the images on the television, you can er see that he is a bit ahead".
Despite two of the best performances in the cycle, New Lusitania remain fourth after a temporary climb to bronze. Nephara continue their stride to become invincible in the qualifiers even if the game against Unimon was tough. A twelve point gap is now open down to the northlands of Terre Septentrionale who had previously beaten Mavinet 1-3. The latter remain just about ahead following a close shave with Damukuni (3-4) and Sharktail maintained it up to a five point gap following two victories as Damukuni and Unimon slipped after difficulties in form. Important games in the next break as New Lusitania play one of their closest rivals, Mavinet, as well as Sharktail. Problems here could not only reel the nautic named nation back in the hunt but also hinder the Selecção's Qualifying chances, especially with the hosting of Nephara in three games time. This time has been called many things but it does start to become make or break for the 180 national teams in competition, hoping for glory and a golden ticket to the world cup.

Goals> Silveira (5), Veiga (3), Jota (3) Paciência (3), Fernando (3), Gama (2), Palhagueira (1), Guerra (1)

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by **Newmanistan** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 7:04 pm

WORLD CUP 86 - NEWMANISTAN/DRAWKLAND

It's time for some more qualifying action!

Maybe we'll see some of these in the next set of games!

Scores

by **The Gothanita Isles** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 7:05 pm

Previous RP (Poafmersia - Ch 2 Part 10)
Previous RP (TGI - Ch 2 Part 11)

RP Series: Getting to the top
Chapter 2: A tale of 2 nations
Part 12: Permutations and Combinations (1)

Extracted from The Hallikshire Daily
Now that 11 out of 18 matchdays have gone by, we shall move on to report on something more interesting to lighten the mood - that is, to post predictions about who will get top 2 in every qualification group. This article was done with support some of our partner newspapers, including the Otksarin Times, the Handorian Sports Journal, and the Sporting Daily from Poafmersia, though those support was in terms of getting the match results, fixture list, and tables. Any form of analysis we conduct is purely by our own reporting team.

Having crossed the midway mark means teams are starting to be mathematically eliminated. Note when we mean mathematically eliminated, we mean that they can no longer gain enough points to reach top 2 positions. We have not yet taken into account the fixture list when making such calculations about who is eliminated and what not, so they are not exactly the most accurate.

Before we start, let us set the legends that we will use here. Teams coloured cyan represents teams that have qualified for the World Cup proper. Teams in navy blue have qualified for the Playoffs. Teams coloured brown have qualified for at least the Playoffs, while teams coloured orange can no longer obtain 1st in their group (although they may still qualify automatically as the 6 best runners-up or qualify for the playoffs). Teams in dark green can no longer qualify for the World Cup proper automatically, though they may still qualify for the playoffs, while teams in red are eliminated and can no longer qualify for the World Cup or the playoffs. Below is the legend with the lettering.

Becuase there are 18 groups, for a start, we shall publish our predictions for the first 9 groups, and do the next 9 groups in a later episode. It means disparity, but this allows us to give you the best quality possible.

   Group 1                              Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Brenecia                              11    9   2   0    32   15  +17    29
 2 Hampton Island                        11    7   3   1    15    3  +12    24
 3 Lisander                              11    5   4   2    18   17   +1    19
 4 Ethane                                11    5   2   4     7    5   +2    17
 5 Lo Santano                            11    4   3   4    18   19   −1    15
 6 Nethertopia                           11    3   2   6    18   25   −7    11
 7 Darkmania                             11    2   4   5    15   20   −5    10
 8 Gyatso-Kai                            11    2   3   6    16   21   −5     9
 9 Pemecutan                             11    1   5   5    25   29   −4     8
10 The Fortem (Y)                        11    1   4   6    18   28  −10     7

It seems quite clear cut at this moment, with top seeds Brenecia having a 5 point gap over 2nd placed Hampton Island. Hampton Island also holds another 5 point lead over Lisander and 7 points over Ethane. We predict that the group winners will be Brenecia, with Hampton Island holding the runners-up spot.
Key Battles: Hampton Island vs Brenecia (MD12); Brenecia vs Lisander (MD13); Hampton Island vs Lisander, Brenecia vs Ethane (MD17)

   Group 2                              Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Ko-oren                               11   10   0   1    22    4  +18    30
 2 95X                                   11    7   3   1    20    6  +14    24
 3 Tequilo                               11    7   2   2    22   10  +12    23
 4 Huayramarca                           11    5   3   3    15   13   +2    18
 5 Jeruselem                             11    4   4   3    16   10   +6    16
 6 Netop                                 11    3   3   5     9   14   −5    12
 7 Sajnur                                11    3   2   6    20   22   −2    11
 8 Iles Rogieres                         11    3   1   7    17   30  −13    10
 9 Semarland (Y)                         11    2   1   8    13   30  −17     7
10 Quebecois Acadiana (Y)                11    1   1   9     7   22  −15     4

Top seeds Ko-oren, at this moment, looks to be running away with the group championship. Meanwhile, 95X and Tequilo are clearly racing for 2nd place. We don't see how any other teams have a chance to contest the runners-up position, but Huayramarca and Jeruselem does have an outside chance. Nevertheless, we are still predicting Ko-oren to be group winners. As for runners-up, we think Tequilo might just come up short and 95X will steal it.
Key Battles: Tequilo vs Ko-oren (MD15); Ko-oren vs 95X (MD16); Tequilo vs 95X (MD18)

   Group 3                              Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Pasarga                               11    9   1   1    23   12  +11    28
 2 Eura                                  11    8   0   3    39   18  +21    24
 3 Vdara                                 11    7   2   2    33   18  +15    23
 4 Timuria                               11    5   3   3    18   13   +5    18
 5 Fujai                                 11    5   2   4    18   20   −2    17
 6 Megistos                              11    4   3   4    20   22   −2    15
 7 Acronius                              11    4   2   5    18   20   −2    14
 8 Drunk People at the Local Tavern      11    1   5   5    23   28   −5     8
 9 Grand Quebecois (Y)                   11    1   1   9    16   38  −22     4
10 Vangaziland (Y)                       11    0   3   8    16   35  −19     3

Even though Pasarga has a 4 point lead over Eura, there is a slight difference here, in the sense that Pasarga are the 2nd seeds. Vdara's early form also signifies that they are a strong challenger to cause an upset here. It isn't really that clear for us here, but we believe Pasarga will grab 1st place. However, we are believing that Vdara can cause an upset here, regain their earlier form, and get 2nd place.
Key Battles: Eura vs Vdara (MD17); Vdara vs Pasarga (MD18)

   Group 4                              Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Nephara                               11   11   0   0    39   12  +27    33
 2 Terre Septentrionale                  11    6   3   2    38   27  +11    21*
 3 Mavinet                               11    7   0   4    30   21   +9    21*
 4 New Lusitania                         11    6   2   3    24   16   +8    20
 5 Sharktail                             11    4   3   4    22   22    0    15
 6 Damukuni                              11    3   3   5    21   26   −5    12
 7 Unimon  (Y)                           11    3   2   6    12   21   −9    11
 8 Havynwilde (Y)                        11    2   4   5    14   23   −9    10
 9 The Minarchist Free State (Y)         11    2   2   7    20   33  −13     8
10 Hwiccemark (Y)                        11    1   1   9    12   31  −19     4

*Head-to-head points: Terre Septentrionale 6, Mavinet 0

Nephara is running away with the group, and we can't see how they cannot get group champions. The battle for 2nd is really interesting. Even though Terre Septentrionale has the head-to-head advantage against Mavinet, they dropped points home to Damukuni and away at Havynwilde. New Lusitania has the advantage over Terre Septentrionale, having 4 Head-to-head points to Terre's 1. It is a tough call, but we are betting that Terre Septentrionale may have the slight advantage here, having played all their matches against Mavinet and New Lusitania. We may be wrong here, and we think it is too early to rule Mavinet or New Lusitania out. Of course, it depends on who can make Nephara drop points too.
Key Battles: Mavinet vs New Lusitania (MD12); Nephara vs Terre Septentrionale (MD13); New Lusitania vs Nephara (MD14); Mavinet vs Nephara (MD16)

   Group 5                              Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Turori                                11    9   1   1    30   13  +17    28*
 2 Siovanija and Teusland                11    9   1   1    38   21  +17    28*
 3 Omerica                               11    6   2   3    17   10   +7    20
 4 Astograth                             11    4   5   2    13    9   +4    17
 5 Gopnikea                              11    4   2   5    16   20   −4    14
 6 Valladares                            11    2   6   3    21   20   +1    12
 7 Garifunya                             11    3   3   5    23   25   −2    12
 8 NorraLesse                            11    1   4   6    14   25  −11     7
 9 Blampano                              11    1   4   6    10   25  −15     7
10 The holy junta (E)                    11    1   2   8    15   29  −14     5

*Head-to-head points: Turori 3, Siovanija and Teusland 0

The holy junta is one of 4 teams who are eliminated from the race of top 2. In our opinion, it is really a battle of who drops more points. We don't see any other team being able to snatch the top 2 positions. MD12's head-to-head battle will really decide who is the group winner.
Key Battles: Siovanija and Teusland vs Turori (MD12)

   Group 6                              Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 The Holy Empire                       11   11   0   0    39   14  +25    33
 2 Poafmersia                            11    8   0   3    22   14   +8    24*
 3 Audioslavia                           11    8   0   3    23   12  +11    24*
 4 Juvencus                              11    6   1   4    28   23   +5    19
 5 Euran Oceania Territories             11    4   2   5    17   19   −2    14
 6 Delaclava                             11    4   0   7    15   16   −1    12**
 7 Lovisa                                11    4   0   7    16   25   −9    12**
 8 Sylestone (Y)                         11    3   0   8    13   18   −5     9***
 9 Southwest Eastnorth (Y)               11    3   0   8    12   25  −13     9***
10 Silver Commonwealth (Y)               11    2   1   8    13   32  −19     7

*Head-to-head points: Poafmersia 6, Audioslavia 0
**Head-to-head points: Delacalava 3, Lovisa 0
***Head-to-head goal difference: Sylestone 1, Southwest Eastnorth -1

If The Holy Empire doesn't mess up big time, they will definitely be group champions. What is more interesting is the runners-up position. 3rd seeds Poafmersia has the advantage over Audioslavia, but Poafmersia risks slipping up against Juvencus once again and cause a big mess. However, we are still predicting a shock here, with Poafmersia to make runners-up over Audioslavia. It does, however, have to depend on their performances against Juvencus.
Key Matches: Juvencus vs Audioslavia (MD14); The Holy Empire vs Audioslavia, Poafmersia vs Juvencus (MD17)

   Group 7                              Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Banija                                11   11   0   0    57   14  +43    33
 2 Chromatika                            11    8   1   2    32   19  +13    25
 3 Blouman Empire                        11    7   2   2    26   21   +5    23
 4 Xanneria                              11    5   1   5    29   25   +4    16*
 5 Tamgu                                 11    5   1   5    24   29   −5    16*
 6 Pripet Socialist Republic             11    3   3   5    16   24   −8    12
 7 Free Republic of Hong Kong (Y)        11    3   1   7    20   31  −11    10
 8 Quakmybush (Y)                        11    2   3   6    18   24   −6     9
 9 The Gothanita Isles (Y)               11    2   1   8     4   22  −18     7
10 HAIKU (Y)                             11    1   3   7    15   32  −17     6

*Head-to-head points: Xanneria 3, Tamgu 0

This group is too strong for our Yellow Lions, in our opinion. Chromatika and Banija are really difficult opponents to play on their strongest days, but Blouman Empire is providing a challenge to Chromatika, which, in our opinion, may be short-lived. Don't see anyone other than Banija and Chromatika getting first and second respectively.
Key Battles: Chromatika vs Blouman Empire (MD12)

   Group 8                              Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 The Sarian                            11   10   0   1    27   12  +15    30
 2 Vilita                                11    9   1   1    40   12  +28    28
 3 Sargossa                              11    6   1   4    19   18   +1    19
 4 Jeckland                              11    4   4   3    21   20   +1    16
 5 The Macabees                          11    4   2   5    19   23   −4    14
 6 Transvolcanic                         11    4   1   6     9   12   −3    13
 7 Jamestownnnn                          11    2   4   5    12   19   −7    10
 8 Freeport                              11    2   3   6    20   23   −3     9
 9 Pluvia and the Saxean Isles (Y)       11    2   2   7    16   24   −8     8
10 Staypuftonia (Y)                      11    2   2   7    11   31  −20     8

Surely the top 2 teams are fixed by now, with 3rd-placed Sargossa having a 11 point and 9 point deficit over The Sarian and Vilita respectively. The question is who will get the group champions and direct spot to the World Cup. We are predicting Vilita to bounce back from their shock defeat home to The Sarian in MD6, and beat them in the reverse to steal the group champions title. But surely at this rate, The Sarian probably has enough points to be the 6 best runners-up to qualify directly?
Key Battles: The Sarian vs Vilita (MD15)

   Group 9                              Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Valanora                              11    9   2   0    37   12  +25    29
 2 Qasden                                11    8   1   2    30   19  +11    25
 3 Ancherion                             11    7   2   2    28   20   +8    23
 4 Kandorith                             11    6   3   2    37   22  +15    21
 5 Lochario                              11    5   2   4    17   18   −1    17
 6 Schottia                              11    3   3   5    12   17   −5    12
 7 Kencana                               11    2   3   6     4   13   −9     9
 8 Emastalia                             11    2   2   7    13   23  −10     8*
 9 Solharcht Kirale                      11    2   2   7    11   29  −18     8*
10 Glazgo (E)                            11    0   2   9    16   32  −16     2

Head-to-head Points: Emastalia 3, Solharcht Kirale 0

Tough call. Qasden is famous for slipping up here and there to let others in the bag, but stealing the title later on. Ancherion and Kandorith both has the ability to give Qasden a run for their money. For us, the Group Champions will obviously be Valanora, but surely something else has to be done here for the second place? We are thinking it might be Kandorith who would steal the spot this time, but don't blame us if we are wrong.
Key Battles: Kandorith vs Qasden (MD16); Ancherion vs Qasden (MD17); Kandorith vs Ancherion (MD18)

by **Oberour Ar Moro** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 7:38 pm

“I’m going to have a baby.”

Ronanenn spoke so plainly. Breval was shocked. It felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him.

“We’re…?” He could barely speak.

Ronanenn looked back at him, smiling softly. “We’re going to have a baby, Breval. You and I.”

They were sitting on a couch they didn’t own. They were staying at Ronanenn’s aunt's house. Ronanenn was working a part-time job making a little money. Breval didn’t have a job at all. But they had each other. And now he was going to be a father.

This had been a tough time for the two. Breval could tell, though Ronanenn wouldn’t say it, that she was frustrated with him. But the only thing he was good at was being a barker, but he wasn’t going back to that.

But now he was going to be a father. After Ronanenn went to sleep, Breval stepped out, to sit out on the balcony and have a drink. He wanted to think.

“My son.” And it would be a son, that’s for sure. “He’ll have more common sense than me.
I’ll teach him to wrestle, how to dive through a wave. And his mother can teach him to be a gentleman. But not a sissy!” Breval nodded firmly.

“He’ll be...tough as an oak tree! He won’t be bossed around, he’ll be his own man. I’ll be sure he can do whatever he wants. He could become a boxer, or a soldier...maybe he can become chancellor!” Ronanenn would like that. But there are better things for a son of Breval Breut to become.

“I’ll teach him how to play football! I played football when I was younger, he can be ten times the player I was! I hope I can take him to a football match some day, like my father did…”

Breval’s enthusiasm drifted away. His father. The memory of his father taking him to Regium to watch the Dragoons was a nice memory. The best memory he had of his father. The only good memory of his father.

“That bum…” Breval muttered under his breath as he took another drink. Bum was being kind. He was a monster. A drunk, a rake, a wife-beater...

And look where that left him. He needed to be a better father than his own father was. Breval’s son wasn’t going to grow up in a slum with a loser of a father.

Breval stood up slowly. Looked up to the sky. “I’ll need argentei. I’ve never had to get any, and I don’t know how, but now I need to go out and make it or take it...or die.” There was a person he knew who could get him some quick cash. Breval pulled out his phone. It was the middle of the night, but this guy was surely awake.

by **Megistos** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 7:45 pm

4 Men Sent Off In Wild 6-5 Loss

Craziness.

That was the one word to describe the 85th minute against Eura. But first we need to cover the match highlights of the surprising game and score of the game against Vangaziland, which was a mere draw.

Megistos 3-3 Vangaziland

The game kicked off, with Megistos knowing that they had to win.

Early in the 3rd minute, Megistos scored from wonderful counter-attacking football. Fran received the ball after a poor pass from Midfielder_3. Fran passed to Fri and Fri spotted Lam's run and he passed the ball to him, who flicked the ball over Midfielder_1 and chipped the ball over to Robertson. Robertson took a touch and put the ball on his left, he spotted a opening between the goalkeeper's legs, and he smashed the ball onto the ground megging the goalie and the ball went into the back of the net, with very good football being played early on in the game.

Megistos kept on the pressure on in the 6th minute, with a pass to Lam. Lam spotted Cringan open, he passed it to Cringan, Robertson made the run, Cringan passed late but Robertson received, he passes back to Cringan who had made a vertical run, Cringan shot, but the shot went just wide and the flag was up for offside anyway.

Vangaziland got their first chance in the 11th minute. Midfielder_4 launched the ball from far to Attacker_1, and Attacker_1 tried to slot the ball into the back of the net, but the poorly timed shot hit off the wrong side of the post and it went out for a goal kick to Megistos.

First foul of the game fell to Megistos in the 24th, namely Lam, who tripped up Midfielder_3. Advantage was given, but second later the foul was given as Megistos had taken the ball, and Lam picked up a yellow card. Attacker_2 tried to go for goal, but his attempt was blocked by the wall.

Another shot by Megistos resulted in a save by the goalkeeper in the 35th. Lam had taken a long shot, the goalkeeper parried it but he did so directly to Cringan, but he shot straight at the goalkeeper.

Megistos got up by 2 in the 37th when Howard passed to Robertson, who passed to Lukovic. Lukovic crossed the ball in, and Fran got the head to the ball and the ball went into the net.

Vangaziland got one back in the 67th, when Attacker_1 scored a header. He scored 2 more in the 78th and 81th, with a powerful volley and a chip. Frett got the Megistian team back in the 91th minute with a long shot sailing over the goalkeeper's stretched hands and hitting the crossbar and in.

Megistos 5-6 Eura
The real highlight was the four reds gaven. So I'm going to broadcast only that.

The start of the fight was Burns calling Fri a facist d***. Fri responded to that with a punch to the face to Burns, and the fight erupted. Fri and Burns were kicking and tackling each other, and Fran and Bond started another brawl with more fistfights and even headbutts. Then Howard got involved, and started kicking Burns and punching him in the nose. The ref had to pause the game and sent off Fri, Burns, Fran and Bond, and later Howard got yellow carded, avoiding a red because of getting a injury from Burns. Serious trouble, and the Megistian Football Federation has pressed charges on Burns but they did condemn Fri's and Fran's actions.

by **Natanians and Nosts** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 8:26 pm

The Placeholder

Chapter ⅠⅩ

I managed to untye myselfe,as the ropes were quite tightly loose.I took a short shower,brushed my teeth and put my head on my bed to sleep.
I woke up.I had breen breaking my head for three days,untill I had got a new,the little girl's father was back from travel.I went to interrogate him,both he and his wife were still extremelly aballed by the kidnapping.I talked to him,and found an evidence noöne had the idea could have had existed all this whole time:the camera.The girl's father's car had a camera at the panel,something he had found useful since he would tavel with wuite some frequency due to his work.He had never paid attention to its existence,since the camera had never been needed...
I took the recordings to the perice.They were still investigating it.Then,at the end of the day,when I was almost heading home,I received a message.From Brenda.

by **Indusse** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 11:38 pm

IFA NEWS NETWORK
WIN AND DRAW

Again!! Indusse wins a match but that is not followed by another good news. Indusse gets tied to Geektopia for a score of 0-0. The first match against Bostopia was one by indusse for a score of 2-3.The goals were scored by Baskar H Kumar in 12th minute and mersias on 34th and 88th minute.The first goal was scored by baskar when djetson tried to score a goal and missed.BHK jumped for the deflected ball and had a header into the goalpost.Mersias scored the goals with a Penalty because the rival's tackled BHK in the penalty box and the other one was a long ranger.

Goals Scored:26
Goals Conceded:23
Top Goal Scorers:
1. Baskar H Kumar 11 Goals
2. Mersiás 6 Goals
3. Djetson 4 Goals
4. Butea 3 Goals
5. Budjedtson 2 Goals

by **Sylestone** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 1:30 am

Sylestone 2-0 Juvencus
Sylestone recorded their most important win of the WCQ 86 qualifiers at home against Pot 4 side Juvencus to keep their slim Water Closet hopes alive. It was quite an odd game, to say the least, with both sides thinking outside the box, but the Appliances did it better than Juvencus and it was them that won.
Sylestone kicked off and was immediately in on goal. However, the Mixer, fresh off an injury, hit the shot straight into the arms of Taddeo Bulgari. He passed to Nicolo Bassi, who passed back to him. Then he got a complete brainwave and started dribbling the ball up the field. He raced through the surprised defenders with some astonishing skills not usually applied by goalkeepers. He then shot the ball at the goal, but it hit the Brick Wall on the edge of his wall. It rebounded in front of him. Then he decided to pull a Bulgar and do the same thing. Very interesting, I know. But somehow, it worked. He ran rampant through the Juvencan lines, knocking over the occasional player before coring in just the second minute.
He tried this again three times in the next ten minutes but Juvencus had grown smart to his tactics and didn't try again. But it didn't stop the Appliances, who scored again in the 39th minute after a Mixer shot hit the crossbar and deflected onto the post. This wrongfooted Bulgari, who left the door open for the tiny striker to score again. 2-0 before halftime was a perfect result.
Unfortunately for Sylestone, they couldn't press home the advantage and the score remained 2-0 until full-time. But still, what a result against a Pot 4 side.

SYLESTONE - 2
Brick Wall 2'
Mixer 39'

JUVENCUS - 0

Poafmersia 2-1 Sylestone
To get so close to drawing with a Pot 3 side showed that the Appliances are finally heading into some form, form which started at the Holy Empire game in Matchday Nine. Poafmersia scored early, in the 14th minute, and kept their lead until the 53rd when the Fridge trapped the ball inside himself. However, Poafmersia scored in the 89th minute to assure their victory.
Aubrey Meyer opened up scoring with a curling kick from just outside the penalty box that bypassed the Brick Wall in the 14th minute. It was possibly one of the best kicks in the entire WCQ and it got what it deserved. But despite attempts from both sides, the score remained 1-0 until the break.
After playing the entire WCQ without using many dirty tactics, the Fridge decided to finally use some and trapped the ball inside himself, ran it past Nicole Potts and dropped it. 1-1. He tried again, but Poafmersia had got smart and surrounded him. So it remained 1-1. With only two minutes left to play, however, Ariel Casey took a great corner kick that curled in. So it was 2-1. Oh well, at least we tried.

POAFMERSIA - 2
Aubrey Meyer 14'
Ariel Casey 89'

SYLESTONE - 1
Fridge 53'

Predictions:
Sylestone 2-0 Lovisa
Silver Commonwealth 0-0 Sylestone

by **Jeruselem** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 4:01 am

Princess Kate for Naked News Jeruselem in the studio

Hello, this is Kate San ... Princess Kate for Naked News Jeruselem covering the World Cup 86 qualification stages.
It's match day 12 and 13, and after our last two games we're suddening doing great!
Three wins in a row for the Princesses.
But every game is a new game, so we can't exactly predict what's going to happen.

Unlike me, who plays Fall Guys and doesn't qualify for anything.
Mind you I won my first game yesterday!
After a few hundred attempts that is.
Which sounds like Jeruselem's history in the World Cup of recent times meh

OK, Match day 12.
We went overseas to Tequilo who are one of big rivals.
It was a very important game against a team who could qualify in 2nd spot, and us who really have to scrap to get to 3rd.
The good news is we didn't lose!
We managed a respectable 2-2 draw, which was fine because we can't afford to give them 3 points.
I think we could have won this one, but hey we didn't drop 3 points either.
The team is looking a lot better than in the first half and we're looking good in the 2nd half.

In the other games!
Last placed Quebecois Acadiana upset Iles Rogieres 3-2 at home. Mind you both are in the bottom 3.
2nd placed 95X were at home but visitors Sajnur who have been dropping points upset them 5-3.
Well, I'm kinda shocked 95X would lost like that. Sajnur's recent form suggested they should have lost.
Semarland were at home but made no different as they lost to Huayramarca 2-0.
And Ko-oren beat Netop at home 1-0. They pretty much win everything ...

Well, one shock loss on match day 12.

Lucky match day 13! We love that number. 13 is reserved for any Dallas team member on the Jeruselem team.
Saying that, most people on the team would not choose 13 anyway.

We were back home and it was 95X who came over ... after losing to Sajnur 5-3 at home.
95X beat us last time, but we've beat Ko-oren and drawn to Tequilo so we've been up with the best in this group.
Well, 95X must have been cursed by the Gods recently!
We beat them 3-2! You know Jeruselem who didn't win single home game in the 1st half.
But they faced a different team, a team who wins!
Well, that must have made the other teams think about writing us off.

On the other games
Ko-oren still at home and beat Quebecois Acadiana 1-0. They weren't even trying last two games.
Netop beat Semarland 2-1 at home to keep up their hopes
Huayramarca faced off wih Tequilo at home, these teams are both our rivals as well.
Tequilo won 1-0 and well well, looking really good.
Sajnur failed repeat their form against 95X, drawing with Iles Rogieres 0-0 at home.

Well, three teams eliminated. Quebecois Acadiana who are last on 7. Semarland also on 7, 9th. And Iles Rogieres on 11 in 8th.
I guess they don't need to pretend they are going to qualify now.

Sajnur despite their recent win are 7th on 15 points along with Netop also on 15 but 6th.
Both have 4-3-6 record.
Jeruselem are still 5th, with 5-5-3 record which looks a lot better than what we started with at the start of the 2nd half. 20 points
Huayramarca on 21 points with a 6-3-4 record who must be watching us and the two teams ahead on them anxiously.
95X losing two and falling to 3rd spot on 24 points. Still with a 7-3-3 record they can recover!
Tequilo are 2nd! 27 points and looking real strong. With an impressive 8-3-2 record, they will be one of the contenders.
Ko-oren lead the table ...

There's still 7 points to 2nd spot despite us winning big games so we need to keep winning.
But we haven't given up.
We cannot win the group, 3rd spot is realistic spot we could steal.
5 games left so only 15 points we can get, 7 points is ... yeah a very hard margin to catch.

We have sudden rash of eliminations ... I won't go through them as there's a lot of them.
No one has qualified officially yet but soon there will be.

If you can't run out to play real football or you're stuck at home, you can play Fall Ball on Fall Guys.
Yes I know it's not exactly like real football but hey it's fun and doesn't involve getting hit the face with a real football.
Of course, the fact the ball is 100x bigger than players ... I know
Yes I'm much better at that than the other games.
I hate tail tag games ...
Mind you in real life people grab my tail even though I don't have one as well.

I'll like to bring to your attention some bad people who wander around football games, putting hands where they aren't wanted like private parts.
You know those who target younger people ...
Please do not let these incidents go unreported.
Sadly I have to mention this, because people with no self control near children are out there.

Everyone please practice good hygiene because we had a COVID outbreak at a swimming pool recently.
It could happen anywhere with large amounts of people sharing the same space.

Apologies to those who can't get them Gold and Silver world cup 86 coins!
They kinda sold out in one day.
We're working on a new batch! Well not me, the mint.
Gold and Silver don't grow on trees like money does.
No we don't make copper ones because no one buys them.

Eh, yes I know there's those annoying shits who are protesting "peacefully" outside our games although they are annoying loud.
I'm sure someone is paying them to do.
From the looks of it, they belong to them churchy people who don't have jobs and have nothing better to do.
Don't pay attention to them.

That's all from me.
Our games and interviews are all on the web site.
Do watch our recent win over 95X today, it was great.

I have to go now, I have to pick up someone's kids.

OOC

MD12
Quebecois Acadiana 3–2 Iles Rogieres
95X 3–5 Sajnur
Tequilo 2–2 Jeruselem
Semarland 0–2 Huayramarca
Ko-oren 1–0 Netop

MD13
Ko-oren 1–0 Quebecois Acadiana
Netop 2–1 Semarland
Huayramarca 0–1 Tequilo
Jeruselem 3–2 95X
Sajnur 0–0 Iles Rogieres

by **Audioslavia** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 4:18 am

Episode 3, Chapter 6
External link directly to YouTube

Original Script

The Projectile Derby

Okay. The previous chapter was supposed to be the last for this episode, but I want to tell you one final story. A story about a doll, three referees, eleven fearless farmers and the chili bats.

In the last chapter, we kind of implied that Valanora had the best win percentage of any team in the multiverse. That’s not strictly true.

Here, we see a version of ‘The Comet’, adjusted slightly to remove the logarithmic scale. The X axis is still Average Goal Difference and the Y axis is Win Percentage. The circle you see under each team corresponds to how many matches they’ve played in total. The larger the circle, the more games the team have played.

We scroll over to the top right to see Valanora in their traditional position, but with a win percentage ratio that’s slightly lower than that of Nephara

According to the record books, Nephara’s win percentage is the *second* highest in football history.

6PupperFunnerRunnies. Who or what in the hell are Six. Pupper. Funner. Runnies?

They didn’t appear on any previous chart on The Idiot Project. Not because the graph cut them off, but because we didn’t have any data on them before. Their circle is so small because we have a grand total of one game on record. It’s from the first round of World Cup 2.

The score comes from an archived copy of Brazillico’s entry on NS Wiki. These three games are the only matches from the first round of World Cup 2 that we have proof of. A 3-0 defeat to Europa Britannia and a draw with Moyk are the only other games played in World Cup 2 by the Chili Bats.

Yes. Brazillico were nicknamed ‘The Chili Bats’. A strange nickname even in 2003 and a controversial title in 2020: The whole reason Audio has had time to *make* this episode is because someone ate a spicy bat.

Brazillico can lay claim to being the multiverse’s first super-team. Hosts of World Cup 4, Champions of World Cups 5 and 6. They are a team that went through two distinct stages in their history. Stage one was being excellent at football. Stage two is their rivalry with the nation of Melmond.

We’ll talk about Stage 1 in the next episode. This chapter’s about Stage 2.

It all started with a well-thrown doll.

Specifically, a doll with the likeness of Nina Steen, Melmond’s striking central defender.

Early in cycle 13’s qualifying phase, the biggest news out of Brazillico was what had happened to a man named “Not Ronaldo”. Here’s a picture of what we think Not Ronaldo might have looked like.

Wait, these role-plays were written in 2004, so it’s not *this* Not Ronaldo it’s *this* Not Ronaldo. There.

Not Ronaldo was a Brazillican referee. He’s famous for one thing. Three games into World Cup 13 qualifying, he was overseeing a feisty game between football heavyweights Ravenspire and newcomers Melmond when, after a misunderstanding had gifted Ravenspire an early goal, a mid-sized doll was thrown from the stands by an irate Melmondian fan, beaning the referee on the head. Melmondian news attempted to downplay the violence of the incident, stating the referee put the doll in his pocket and continued the match, while Brazillican reports the next day said the ref had been knocked clean out.

It would not be the last thing that Brazillico and Melmond would disagree on.

The two sides would meet in the resulting Cup of Harmony, held in Melmond, who were hosting their very first tournament in their very first cycle. From the outset, the Melmondian press dubbed the game ‘The Projectile Derby’ after what had happened to the unfortunate Not Ronaldo.

The match, held at Farmers’ Field, is one of the most infamous in the history of international football.

The match finished after four minutes.

One red card after two minutes, two red cards after three minutes - the second one simply for being *offside* - followed by nine more as the Chillibat players assaulted a referee they were adamant had been paid off by the Melmondian FA.

After the four-minute game, Melmond advanced and Brazillico were thrown out of the tournament. Not that it stopped them arriving at Acosta’s Walladome demanding to play the third-placed-playoff *anyway* with their eight unsuspended players. They were denied by an armed security detail, and NEWI Cefn Druids won via walkover.

A rivalry had been formed.

Melmond had won the Cup of Harmony, but at the cost of their national pride. This had been their hosting debut, and they’d done it in their debut cycle. That they’d made a bit of a fool of themselves is arguably on the World Cup Committee, not on Melmond. While Brazillico wanted revenge, what Melmond needed now was redemption, on and off the field.

There were audible gasps throughout the football world at the start of the next cycle after the draw for Group 10 of qualifying. Reigning champions Eauz, two-time champions Europa Britannia, twice-champions Brazillico.. and Melmond. A year after the Not Ronaldo fiasco and months on from the chaotic end to the Chill Bat / Farmers match in the CoH, the two teams would be going at it again on matchday eight. Hopefully for a whole ninety minutes this time.

Melmond got off to the worst start imaginable. Brazillico got off to a flier. The two teams met on Matchday 8.

By the time matchday seventeen came around, Melmond were done, but were in the middle of a short unbeaten streak that they were desperate to maintain to salvage some sense of pride. They did so, thought not without more crowd trouble.

Melmond would go on to reach the final four of the Cup of Harmony, with Brazillico going to the second round of the World Cup. In cycle 15, somehow, they would meet each other in qualifying again, meeting for the first time on matchday four.

Once again, Melmond were playing catch-up. The two sides would meet again on matchday twelve.

Melmond would eventually run out of steam and finish fourth, but having won the respect of their peers once more. Melmond would be allowed to co-host Cup of Harmony 7, which went off without a hitch. Redemption. On the field, their greatest moment came in World Cup 17, reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Brazillico retired after hosting World Cup 16. Melmond would be gone after cycle 22.

Trivia / Extras
Wait.. Episode 3 Chapter 6?. Yes. I didn’t post this as an RP in World Cup 85 due to the Bulls’ getting knocked out ~~earlier than~~ exactly when I expected. As I said previously, E3C6 was originally written to be an early chapter in Episode 4, but plans changed. It makes sense to put the episode in here. The Melmond vs Brazillico rivalry happened around the same time as the Eauz vs Eagles Nest rivalry.
Two of the Mel vs Braz matches were for the Interim UWC title - one match from cycle 14 and one from cycle 15. Melmond held the Lineal version of the title in cycle 17.
Like Eauz, Melmond was writing in a second language. Unlike Eauz, Melmond’s writing is much easier to follow, despite being… a little weird.
The Idiot Project’s style sheet dictates that I shouldn’t bring up any OOC drama from the last 15 years. This technically means I could have spent time on the Voodoo Dice fiasco (short version: Melmond hosted a CoH solo, scorinated it with dice and won it) but I decided to keep things in-character.
The version of The Comet used in this video has a circle underneath every nation. Bigger circles are for teams that have played lots of games.
Other images from the video
'6 Pupper Funner Runnies' wasn't actually the name of that team. Brazillico was misremembering the name in that post. The name of the nation is '6 Pupper Runny Funnies'.

by **Sajnur** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 6:09 am

World Cup Qualifying: Halfway house looking very rickety

Fostina

Delayed Broadcast

Following the 10th Independent Associations Championship, where Sajnur were eliminated from the group stage for a second successive tournament, Eliseo Marinon called a day on his stint as the first manager of Sajnur to take the team to the official world footballing stage, feeling that he had done all that he could to progress the country. In his place, Chloe Saukanen was chosen to continue forging the Sajnuran path to glory, and she chose largely to continue Marinon's style of offensive football. Sadly, under her tenure results have not been forthcoming. While Sajnur scored 11 points in the first six games of qualifying, with a draw against 95X somewhat making up for the away loss to Tequilo, our red and purple team have now lost our last three, including a shameful home loss to an unheralded Netop side. Saukanen is now under serious pressure to lift this side or else she will not have a job come the end of this qualifying cycle.

The good news is that Andre Naulo's has scored five goals in his seven matches this cycle, and Maktar and Nazar have given him some goalscoring support. More good news has come in the form of Ella Ciuru's hattrick and Silja Jorse's continued improvement. This, however, is where the good news ends. Sajnur have conceded 16 goals, which while not abnormal for Sajnur is still equals third worst in the group, and this is despite a 0-0 draw against 95X and 1-0 losses to Netop and Ko-oren. Sajnur have scored 16 goals, too, but those aforementioned matches bode very poorly for the prospects of success for Sajnur. Being shutout three times in nine matches? Sure, failing to score against the top two seeds may be forgivable, but failing to score against Netop? How do we get shutout against a team ranked 248th in the world? It's torturous to watch your team lose in such a manner, and for 60,000 people at Siyaka Island to be subject to this approaches tragedy. Chloe Saukanen's seat has its heater on full blast, and it's burning through both her body and the rope holding the sword inching closer to her head.

An Andre Naulo hattrick brought the team a 4-3 win over Semarland, but Semarland are unranked, and we don't even know who their players are. For them to score three goals against us is already a concern, but it can always be handwaved as a symptom of the Sajnuran way, as long as we win, right? The first sign of real trouble was found in Tequilo, where Tlacolotl strung Stefan Jana around like a mannequin, with the beleaguered defender seeing yellow and then being subbed off for Kabas Verjez after the striker got his second assist. Then things got a bit brighter. Four matches unbeaten, including against Jeruselem and 95X. Flamboyant wins against Iles Rogieres and Quebecois Acadiana. Kahala Murje being impenetrable. Ella Ciuru's hattrick of goals against Iles Rogieres, and Silja Jorse's hattrick of assists in the same match. Jorse's spectacular volley late against Jeruselem to salvage a draw. God was that a beautiful volley. Things were looking up.

Then came Huayramarca. Andre Naulo's ill fated press on Kevin Quispe leading to red. Gabriel Sayritupac moving through Sajnur like Sajnuran goods move through the border at Khagho. The blunting of the Sajnuran attack. A crucial match turned to dust in the mountains of the Condors. And it only got worse. Netop. The match that frustrated millions. Even with Naulo suspended, goals should have arrived. It's the Sajnuran way. Yet they didn't. Lyla Wormald scything past Tassa Inatje and Hatu Raglan in the 20th minute. Johnny Howells making nine saves. That ball stubbornly refusing to enter the Netop net. The whistle blowing three times, with the score 1-0 to the away team. A stadium of mass despair.

Then Ko-oren. Of course we were going to lose to Ko-oren. They had won eight on the trot. They're the best team in the group, the top seed. Yet for sixty two minutes it was looking different. Kahala Murje and co had kept out the Ko-orenite hordes. The Sajnuran penalty box was somewhat clean. Possession wasn't even, but Sajnur had managed to launched some attacks. But then yet another red card. Maximilien Longchambon (that's one long name) gets into the penalty box. No big deal. Long name boy gets past defenders. Semi big deal. Alek Khadur comes out to sweep ball. Khadur gets ball. Longchambon tumbles to ground. Good, right? Referee blows whistle. Referee points to spot. Not good. Referee approaches Khadur. Referee shows Khadur a straight red card. Really not good. Away fans boo referee, as they should. Longchambon slots past Piotr Laghiev, on for Tomasi Vuierev. We have two more centre backs. Defence will be fine. Scoring is the important bit.

Defence was fine for Sajnur. Sadly, defence was fine for Ko-oren too. Scoring, the important bit, does not happen. Three losses in a row. Three strikes to the qualifying campaign. Tequilo makes four. The campaign is sinking quickly, and the reserves of hope are sinking with it.

by **Springmont** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 6:13 am

Group 12                             Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Trolleborg                            13    9   3   1    34   20  +14    30
 2 The Hinodejin Empire                  13    9   2   2    30   14  +16    29
 3 Taeshan                               13    7   4   2    24   16   +8    25
 4 Riena                                 13    6   3   4    26   22   +4    21
 5 Ziwana                                13    6   1   6    23   18   +5    19
 6 Springmont                            13    4   4   5    24   27   −3    16
 7 ZSeparatists                          13    4   1   8    15   24   −9    13 E
 8 Savigliane                            13    4   1   8    25   35  −10    13 E
 9 Fluvannia                             13    2   3   8    13   25  −12     9 E
10 The Grearish Union                    13    2   2   9    12   25  −13     8 E

 (MD1) Springmont 0–1 The Hinodejin Empire
Kingbury
Krepanovic, Heckbert (C), Wingstrom, Farrowshard
Fjetland, McColsom, Mohaupt
Mayfirth, Crownfish, Compton

 (MD2) Riena 0–0 Springmont
Kingbury
Krepanovic, Heckbert (C), Wingstrom, Bloodsword
Fjetland, McColsom, Mohaupt
Mayfirth, Crownfish, Compton

(MD3) Springmont  3-4 Savigliane 
Coe
Fogdream, Heckbert (C), Wingstrom, Farrowshard
Fjetland, McColsom, Mohaupt
Kaizer, Crownfish, Stanley

Springmont Scorer: Waldo Miguel Stanley - 23', 45', 77'

 (MD4) Taeshan 3–2 Springmont
Auwaerter
Krepanovic, Heckbert (C), Wingstrom, Farrowshard
Fjetland, McColsom, Delinois
Mayfirth, Crownfish, Stanley

Springmont Scorer: McColsom - 43' & Crownfish - 76''

 (MD5) Springmont 1–0 Fluvannia
Kingbury
Krepanovic, Heckbert (C), Wingstrom, Bloodsword
Ravenbluff, McColsom, Mohaupt
Mayfirth, Crownfish, Compton

Springmont Scorer: Mayfirth- 12''

 (MD6)  Trolleborg 5–2 Springmont
Kingbury (C)
Fogdream, Bloodsword, Wingstrom, Farrowshard
Fjetland, McColsom, Mohaupt
Mayfirth, Crownfish, Compton

Springmont Scorer: Farrowshard- 30';  Crownfish - 59'

 (MD7)  Springmont 2–1 ZSeparatists
Kingbury
Fogdream, Heckbert (C), Wingstrom, Farrowshard
Fjetland, Delinois, Mohaupt
Kaizer, Crownfish, Stanley

Springmont Scorer: Kaizer- 57';  Fjetland - 90'

 (MD8)  Springmont 2–2 The Grearish Union
Kingbury
Fogdream, Heckbert (C), Wingstrom, Farrowshard
Fjetland, Delinois, Mohaupt
Kaizer, Crownfish, Mayfirth

Springmont Scorer: Mayfirth- 12';  Crownfish - 65'

 (MD9)  Ziwana 2–2 Springmont
Auwaerter
Krepanovic, Heckbert (C), Wingstrom, Bloodsword
Ravenbluff, McColsom, Mohaupt
Kaizer, Crownfish, Mayfirth

Springmont Scorer: Kaizer - 40';  McColsom - p. 77'

 (MD10)  The Hinodejin Empire 4–2 Springmont
Auwaerter 
Krepanovic, Heckbert (C), Wingstrom, Farrowshard 
Fjetland, McColsom, Mohaupt 
Kaizer, Crownfish, Mayfirth

Springmont Scorer: Crownfish- 80' & 88'

 (MD11)  Springmont 4–3 Riena
Coe 
Bloodsword, Heckbert (C), Wingstrom, Farrowshard 
Fjetland, Ravenbluff, Mohaupt 
Kaizer, Crownfish, Mayfirth

Springmont Scorer: Mayfirth- 25', 44'; Fjetland - 71'; Wingstrom - 90'

 (MD12)  Savigliane 2–4 Springmont
Coe 
Bloodsword, Heckbert (C), Fogdream, Farrowshard 
Fjetland, Ravenbluff, Mohaupt 
Kaizer, Crownfish, Mayfirth

Springmont Scorer: Farrowshard- 12', Fjetland- 41', Kaizer- 56', Crownfish- 76'

 (MD13)  Springmont 0–0 Taeshan
Coe 
Bloodsword, Heckbert (C), Fogdream, Farrowshard 
Fjetland, McColsom, Mohaupt 
Kaizer, Crownfish, Mayfirth

Springmont Scorer: NONE

Next Game
MD14: Fluvannia vs. Springmont
MD15: Springmont vs. Trolleborg

Goalscorer
Name	    Total
Crownfish	6
Mayfirth	4
Stanley	3
Kaizer	3
Fjetland	3
McColsom	2
Farrowshard	2
Wingstrom	1

by **Squidroidia** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 6:44 am

"...Squidroidia are a dead man walking! Because when the Quebec Grim Reapers... Meet Inkman, 9 millimetre gloc-"

Yeeeah, some of the stuff the Squidroidian ultras pull off are... Insane to say the least. It was the middle of the 7th International Break of World Cup qualification, and a couple of homebrew Squidward Roids were remembering that World Cup promo for the first fixture between the 2 nations, in which a guy wearing a silly mask with a long droopy nose said those words and locked and loaded a pristine Squidroidian gun. It was an incident embroiled in controversy in Quebec, even if you could call it one. These are the Grim Reapers! They should be easily hitting that ddu-du-ddu-du over a Baptism of Fire podium team. If you watched that game at the Reneegrad, you could obviously tell what happened next.

And look at them now! Squidroidia were back at it again against Quebec with both teams treating it as a must win game, under the lights of Inkopolis City Stadium. 3rd versus 2nd, 3 points separating the 2 nations. Nothing to lose, everything to gain. If the Squidroidian team could beat the Grim Reapers again, they would leapfrog them to second in Group 15! To be fair, afterwards they still had Cass, Electrum and Main Nation Ministry to deal with as the final three games of the campaign, not counting the playoff round, but they'd worry about it for later. As it was game day, under the afternoon skies of the Squidroidian capital city, it was time for the ultras to begin their pre-match festivities.

An army of thousands of people, human and Inkling, marched in unison. All of them wore masks like the one in the infamous Inkman promo. Droopy green noses filled the crowd as much as the sea of teal smoke that filled the air, and some of them... Played clarinet. It was obvious that Squidroidia didn't have good clarinet players in its several million strong ranks, but these were the best around. Aspiring artists that want their work to be heard. And yet... They were average. They played average Squidroidian fight songs, one for every player, on their average clarinets. Everything from the Go Go Goalie Kyushichi to the Hoshi Hop, these wielders of the clarinet were... Average. Nobody minded, there wasn't an abrasive sponge calling them out for being trash at what they did.

The Squidward Roids were a mix between a serious ultras group and a lighthearted one. They were their own charm in the Squidroidian sapphire necklace, unfurling tifos during the walkout onto the pitch and still playing drinking games with each other. There was a saying one got used to as one of these ultras. Always remind your enemies about what happened before. For Woryand in the Baptism of Fire it was Grēnwā's Golden Gloves, which bent under the pressure of the Squidroidian attack in the IAC quarter-finals. For Flavovespia it was the Squidroidian kit, one tucked away in Waldster due to Mito not knowing there wasn't a Kitblog to be seen this cycle. That time, just that past matchday, they beat them again, this time in Marthorpe. And now, with Quebec coming over for some calamari, that of the "Beat Squidroidia or Not Qualify" kind, they had to bring in something. The Inkman 9 millimetre glock? That'd be a safety risk. A scythe caked in the blood of the Quebecois? Too fearsome. They needed something just right to bring into the Squidroidian home ground.

So they brought in a giant nose. One of the long, green and droopy kind. Carried by 50 of the strongest of the Squidward Roids into the stadium, it barely fit the doors the stadium had to offer. It was clearly hundreds of pounds, maybe even thousands, heavy, as like in the game that the nose was for, one slip and it could lead to disaster. Nothing slipped, of course. It was their reminder about that controversial video. Squidroidia were still a dead man walking, and they still had the Inkman 9 millimetre glock on their hands to fire onto the Grim Reapers.

After a few hours, all 50,000 fans were at their seat, most of them Squidroidian supporters with a sizable away section for the most loyal of the Bubonic Plague. On the designated home end, teal smoke rose up as hundreds of Squidward Roids held onto the nose. They started chanting that match's walkout anthem as the 2 teams took to the pitch.

When you see the droopy nose,
Don't be afraid, to grab the hose!
Drown it out in the sea of teal!
Because after today, there is no heal!

A good laugh was had by all as the teams lined up for the national anthems. Itoh, the team captain, happened to look at the supporters and gave them a wave. They could, and they CAN, beat Quebec again and continue the journey. It all had to depend on this game. Win and there still is a shot. Lose and it's all but gone. If either happens, the Squidward Roids would still be okay. They beat Quebec once, beating them again would be ideal, but losing to them would not do harm to their spirits.

by **Nephara** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 7:52 am

Minarchist Free State 0 - 2 Nephara
(4-4-2) 20 - Provost; 2 - Stride, 5 - Thorn (c), 6 - Brosch (22 - Lockheed 64'), 3 - Muscadin (19 - Strassman 75'); 13 - Belgrade, 4 - Shone, 21 - Moxham (8 - Cromwell 59'), 11 - Deventer; 14 - Tzorvas, 10 - Lovelace
Goals: Lovelace 16', Moxham 44'

Nephara 6 - 3 Terre Septentrionale
(4-4-2) 1 - Mercator; 2 - Stride (18 - Rostock 74'), 5 - Thorn (c), 6 - Brosch, 3 - Muscadin; 7 - Kuepper (13 - Belgrade 64'), 4 - Shone, 21 - Moxham, 11 - Deventer; 9 - Bastable, 10 - Lovelace (23 - Mrdja 64')
Goals: Thorn 15', Bastable 29' 40' 51', Mrdja 70', Belgrade 87'

Some teams thrived on order; others, on chaos. Most likely, it depended on the situation.
The Nephara of old had always favoured chaos. Getting stuck in, shoving people down, kicking people, throwing a superior side off its stride... in this lay its best odds. The Nephara of new - a school approximately introduced by Michael Brandon, though it had been heading that way regardless - still relied heavily on physicality, but to control and command games, to sweep the opponents off the field.
It wasn't just a matter of how good a side was; some weak sides wanted to keep order through a tight defensive structure first and foremost, while even at their peak Audioslavian energy had undoubtedly always been chaotic. But every side would find themselves out of their element at some point. Tonight, at half-time, was Nephara's turn.

It was never going to be another 5-0, but it only took six minutes for that to become mathematically impossible. A clever interplay started and finished by the darting figure of Sandrine Fontaine, before her deft pass snuck returning heroine McCracken through the defence to slip a dagger between Mercator's feet. The game was, by then, 13 minutes old. The home crowd didn't know what to make of it.
The Cormorants clawed their way back almost immediately, Moxham's shot clawed over the bar by Vainqueur, her subsequent corner nodded home by Thorn. 2-2 by the half-hour, 3-2 by the 40th minute, and it looked like the Cormorants had found their way back into the ascendancy after an early blip. That narrative lasted all of eighty-seven seconds before Waclawzcyk followed up a late run into the box by planting a perfect header into the top corner, time seeming to stand still. Just as Mercator did, watching in dismay as the ball flew past.
Well, 3-3, improbably, was the score. And on home soil, a draw would never do.
So here they found themselves, chasing a game that had undoubtedly slipped beyond their control and was unlikely to return there. How would the Cormorants react?

Strongly.
The leadership stepped up. Roxelana Thorn restored calm at the back, a couple of commanding headers and crunching challenges, a lot of bellowing. She held the line through that nervy opening five minutes, and then, when Moxham found Bastable bearing down on the edge of the box, the striker held his nerve and slotted low beyond Vainqueur, completing a cold-blooded hat-trick.
51st minute, the Cormorants back in front, cautious optimism back in the stands. Were they now going to race calmly to victory? Not according to Sandrine Fontaine, whose low strike was fingertipped onto the upright by a sprawling Mercator. But the next, substitute Traudl Mrdja drifting onto a blocked Bastable shot and lofting it over the goalkeeper, that was the killer blow after a period of sustained pressure lasting into the 70th minute, with Strauss so eager to assure supremacy there'd been a double substitution by then. It had worked, with new woman Belgrade the architect as the two natural wingers had interplayed nicely down the flank.
Belgrade herself drove in the finishing blow late on. Mercator hadn't been tested since Nephara's fifth, and wouldn't be 'til the end of the game.
It still felt wild, concussive. Shone had to dance on a caution for the last fifteen minutes, and when Kastriot was brought to warm up and replace her plans had to be changed when Stride limped off after a challenge. But the Cormorants had survived the test, carved a path, and taken the points.
Five more to go, and as imperfect as this match had been, a perfect record remained on the table.

NEPHARAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 8
Goalkeepers: 1 - Hesterine Mercator (Ulsa, EUR), 12 - Alexandra Markgraf (Sabrefell Moths), 20 - Aranea Provost (Holdefnberg, EUR)
Defenders: 2 - Rovena Stride (AFC Treason), 3 - Vivica Muscadin (Sabrefell Moths), 5 - Roxelana Thorn (Revolutionaries, EUR, c), 6 - Ilyana Brosch (Brinemouth), 18 - Linde Rostock (Stahlburg City), 19 - Bremusa Strassman (Crisisbless), 22 - Gabriel Lockheed (AFC Treason)
Midfielders: 4 - Tawny Shone (Sabrefell Moths), 7 - Marica Kuepper (Jungle Strike, VIL), 8 - Lothaire Cromwell (AFC Treason), 11 - Morena Deventer (Brinemouth), 13 - Ysabet Belgrade (Sabrefell Moths), 15 - Mercurio Kastriot (Crisisbless), 16 - Rasmus Caracole (Coret Hawks), 21 - Chimera Moxham (Ulsa, EUR)
Forwards: 9 - Kurtis Bastable (Ulsa, EUR), 10 - Konrad Lovelace (Revolutionaries, EUR), 14 - Arista Tzorvas (CA Paulinthal, PAS), 17 - Latona Basilisk (Coret Hawks), 23 - Traudl Mrdja (Vermillion Rage)

SCHEDULE
Nephara 4 - 1 Hwiccemark @ The Iron Hill (Vermillion)
Unimon 3 - 4 Nephara
Nephara 3 - 0 The Minarchist Free State @ Ludd's Hammer (Stahlburg)
Terre Septentrionale 0 - 5 Nephara
Nephara 3 - 2 New Lusitania @ Eagle's Club (Brinemouth)
Sharktail 2 - 4 Nephara
Nephara 2 - 1 Mavinet @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Nephara 4 - 0 Havynwilde @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
Damukuni 1 - 5 Nephara
Hwiccemark 2 - 4 Nephara
Nephara 1 - 0 Unimon @ Phoenix Rise (Corvistone)
The Minarchist Free State 0 - 2 Nephara
Nephara 6 - 3 Terre Septentrionale @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
New Lusitania vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Sharktail @ Eagle's Club (Brinemouth)
Mavinet vs. Nephara
Havynwilde vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Damukuni @ The Gauntlet (Treason)

by **Graintfjall** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 7:54 am

Domestic rivalries set aside as national team continues strong run

The Græntfjall Premier League is reaching its conclusion, with a final weekend schedule that will potentially see the Háttmark derby decide the title. Yet as tensions simmer between Gunzlach and Steinaux fans, their players have come together to play in national colors and bring the Snow Wolves successive impressive victories. The depth of rivalry between the two capital sides has historically been such that KG were fearful of how players from each team would be able to co-exist in the national side, and is believed to have been a factor in the selection of Sigtryggur Brynjólfursson – one of the few high-level Græntfjaller coaches without a significant history with either side – as national team coach. But their performances on the field have shown such worries to be baseless.

Gunzlach and Steinaux can trace their rivalry back to the late 19th century when both clubs were first founded, although it was on the rugby, rather than football, field that their first encounter came. Rugby is today a fringe sport in the Queendom, but was once the more popular of the two. Their first football match happened just after the turn of the century; since then, they have played over three hundred times, with the overall record, owing to incomplete scorekeeping and contested results, largely dependent on which side of the Bay Road one asks. The great road that connects Háttmark to the coast splits asunder the two neighborhoods that gave rise to the modern rivalry. To the west was located the barracks of the Royal Artillery, and in particular, the arsenal that housed the “gunners”; to the east, the slaughterhouses, packing yards, and meatmarkets that give rise to the “sausages”.

The club nicknames persist to the modern day despite substantial changes in those neighborhoods. Gunzlach retains a link to the Royal Artillery, but their arsenal is no longer based within the city limits, and in its place stands an apartment block. Once a thriving working-class neighborhood based around the docks, the loss of traditional jobs, off-shored to Export Processing Zones in the Græntfjaller South Indies has led to an influx of crime, drugs, and deprivation. By contrast, Steinaux is one of the most livable suburbs in the city, having undergone a major project of renovation and urban renewal. Luxury penthouses sit atop environmentally-friendly affordable housing stacks, foreign food vendors mingle with climate campaigners at street festivals in the pedestrianized zone, and high-tech modern public transport takes commuters to well-paid jobs at the information tech and pharmaceutical work hubs.

The fortunes of the two clubs contrast mightily with those of their respective homes. Gunzlach can boast eight league titles since the formation of the GPL; Steinaux meanwhile have not won a league title since the fall of Communism. Gunzlach have won every single meeting of the two teams in the newly reconstituted Græntfjall Cup, and while old records may be in doubt, in the modern era have outscored Steinaux over 2:1 in a head-to-head record that tilts heavily, if not outrageously, in their favor. So it is of particular concern to Sausages fans and players that their hopes of breaking their title drought rest on the season-ender to be played in the belly of the beast itself, the Grand National Arena – home of the Gunners. “We know they’d love to hand us a defeat,” says Petter Erlingsson, Steinaux club captain, who cannot resist a bit of ribbing. “That’s why winning there to take the trophy is going to be even sweeter.”

Spoiling Steinaux’s party is now the extent of Gunzlach’s own ambitions, after a disastrous collapse in the second half of the season. Jason Þórhallursson has outscored the next two top goalscorers in the league combined, and the Gunners boast an exciting array of foreign talent including Antoni Savushniko, Momoko Wakabayashi and Jiraff Wang, but their season will have to be judged a failure as they can finish no higher than third. Their Cup hopes remain in tact as the only remaining GPL side at the semi-final stage, but the trophy has always been seen as scant consolation compared to the priority of the league. “I won’t lie, it will give us extra motivation,” says Else Svennsdóttir of the deciding tie. “Every Gunzlach – Steinaux match is a real event, and this one might just have some added spice.”

Not too much added spice, the KG will hope. As they seek to promote the GPL, bringing in foreign players, managers and – hopefully – investment, officials will be keen to avoid repeats of the ugly violence that marred some of the 20th century meetings between the two clubs. The rivalry has always been purely geographic – unlike some other club rivalries worldwide, there is no sectarian or ethnic division, just a question of who lives which side of a big road – and Græntfjall has no history of organized hooligan ‘firms’, but that not stopped ultras from each side committing acts of thuggery in the course of excessive celebration (or commiseration) of results. “We want a hard fought match on the field, but nothing more than that,” said Erlingsson in his weekly club newsletter article. “I hope that regardless of the outcome all fans of the Sausages will remember that the Gunners are just football fans like them.”

The combustible nature of the rivalry has had little impact of the national team, however; until her recent ankle injury, Steinaux’s Justiina Dannysdóttir formed a strike partnership with Gunzlach’s Þórhallursson; Gunzlach goalkeeper Alexander Leonardsson was voted captain for the most recent game against Sarzonia, based on his strong performance against Plane of Possibility, a match where Steinaux’s Hrærekur Jvarsson wore the armband. “Players from both teams have trained together, socialized together, played together, worked together – and won together,” said Leonardsson. “And that’s the way it’s going to continue.” Such spirit of cooperation was much in evidence over the last week, with both games decided by Gunners – Sausages teamwork. Against the Plane of Possibility, it was Svennsdóttir’s corner that found Jvarsson with space to direct his powerful header down inside the left hand post. Against the Stars, Steinaux turned provider and Gunzlach scorer, with Þórhallursson turning in Bríana Noahsdóttir’s corner.

For the Snow Wolves, indeed, of potentially more concern than club rivalries is that both matches needed late goals to break scoreless ties, and both came from set-pieces. Goals from open play have been hard to come by, and with Brynjólfursson switching to a 4-1-4-1 formation in Dannysdóttir’s absence that leaves Þórhallursson without a support striker to feed him, the prolific domestic goalhound has been relatively starved of opportunities. As ever, questions surround the form of Amanda Guttisdóttir, nominally the team’s offensive playmaker, in fact leaving observers in search of any plays she has made. Some criticism has also been attached to Brynjólfursson’s defensive formations and substitutions. The team are staunch in his defense, though. “We have a top 5 defense in the entire World Cup qualifying pool at this stage,” says Jvarsson. “These two matches prove that if we can stand strong against good attacking teams, then the goals will come as opportunities open up for us.”

Jvarsson will troop back to Græntfjall this weekend for the match that will decide the GPL season, and then return to international duty to play alongside his Gunzlach rivals as the Snow Wolves continue the hunt for an improbable – and at this stage, unlikely, but not impossible – qualifying playoff spot. “I may be a Sausage, but I’m forever a Snow Wolf,” he says. For once, he finds himself in agreement with a Gunzlach player. “I bleed dark red,” said Svennsdóttir (referring, less morbidly than might be initially feared, to the Gunners’ home colors), “But when I’m in the blue of the national team I don’t see club rivalries at all.” Brynjólfursson and his team will be hoping such a spirit of unity persists after whatever transpires this weekend.

Græntfjall – 1 (0)
Leonardsson; Vilbertsdóttir, Hjörleifursson, Álfarsson, Vernerisdóttir (52’ Svennsdóttir ); Aunosdóttir (88’); Raphaelsson, Guttisdóttir (72’ Bjørnsson ), Jvarsson (60’), Franklínsson; Þórhallursson (73’ Rögnvaldursson )

Plane of Possibility – 0 (0)
Lamont; Shadow (55’), Urael III, Dremont, Duskborn (90+4’); Song, Vierra (6’), Irota (38’); Mietre, K’nen, Arrowstorm

Sarzonia – 0 (0)
Sandt; King, Benignati, Taylor, Howard; Mabree, Reynolds, Wilson, dos Santos; Aguirre, Campos

Græntfjall – 1 (0)
Leonardsson; Vilbertsdóttir (12’), Hjörleifursson (45’ Reynarsson (50’)), Álfarsson, Vernerisdóttir; Aunosdóttir; Raphaelsson (41’) (77’ Snæþórsson ), Guttisdóttir, Jvarsson, Franklínsson (74’ Noahsdóttir ); Þórhallursson (84’) (84’)

Also in the paper:

NEWS: Foreign Minister Michaelsdóttir urges all sides in Farfadillis to “take a massive chill pill”
BUSINESS: Luxury fashion investors issue downgrade for Twicetagria
SCIENCE: Why the Xannerian Territories earthquake is only 7% likely to be caused by giant kraken activity
LETTERS: “How is it even possible to write an article about the title race that does not even mention Altendalur,” writes some nerd from the west
SPORT: Snæþórsson denies Steinaux exit rumor

by **Trolleborg** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:01 am

Greetings, compatriots! It's TTV with a news from the World Cup Qualifying. Our national team give us all a reason to be proud in the last two games. Let's see how it all happened.

TAESHAN – TROLLEBORG 0:1

The match we were all looking forward to with great worry. But Taeshan in this qualifying cycle seems to have not woken up yet, or has lost interest in what is happening, being already fed up with victories. Let's be honest, our team is unlikely to have been able to cope with "Taeshan chainmail" at the time of its full-fledged functioning. But in this fight the hosts looked a little more relaxed than we are used to seeing them on TV screens during big battles, and our guys were able to get a victory, so necessary and important, demonstrating – this should certainly be noted – competent football.

Taeshan, in his game philosophy, generally tends to focus on protecting his net, but the status of the hosts still requires more decisive action. It is impossible not to notice that, despite the status of the match, there were not very many spectators, and they were far from cheering as actively as the bunch of fans that arrived with our team, which despised the huge distance, the cold and the infrastructure that was completely unsuitable for tourism – and was awarded for this by victory.

As the hosts, Taeshan sharpened the game several times in the first half, but never came close to really scoring. In one of the episodes, everything could have ended very badly for our team, the guests' forward received the ball on the penalty line, but he hesitated for a second, spending it on taming the ball, and the next moment he was actively pressed by the defenders, and his shot had to be delivered from afar and as a result was not very dangerous

A little later, two players took possession of the ball very close to the net, but they could not manage it properly, our goalkeeper parried the shot and immediately covered ball, although there was no direct danger - our defender was ready to interfere with the running Taeshan player

All other moments at our gate were about the same. For their part, our guys, acting prudently and calmly, did not necessarily strive to besiege the owners' gate and shot often and from every point of the field. Apparently, having got used to this situation, the Taeshan defenders in the middle of the second half lost first Finnsnes, who got two seconds of freedom on the flank, and then Kerr, who after that got a chance to shot and took advantage of it one hundred percent. Three defenders were already move to him, but he hit ball properly and right into the near upper corner!

The hosts then tried to even and go forward in the hope to do so, but, fortunately, our guys held out, not even giving a chance for a shot on goal.

Well, to summarize: the victory is very valuable, one of the most valuable among the successes of our team, but there is no time to relax, the situation in the group remains extremely tense. Favorites of the group are favorites because they had a lot of experience and know how to take points where we lose them.

TROLLEBORG – FLUVANNIA 4:3

And we almost lost points again in the next game. It is clear that the integration of a whole group of new players into the lineup is a difficult task and tactical experiments take time, but we at TTV will express the general opinion that it is better to do without such strong emotions as the last game arousing.

Quite quickly, the guests took the lead, throwing the stadium into shock. After a corner kick, our goalkeeper managed to parry a dangerous strike from close range, but the guest player was the first to arrive at the ball.

At the 21st minute, the score was already 0: 2, the guest player threw the ball from the out-of-bounds right into the penalty area, after a dump and a series of ricochets the ball hit the crossbar and was immediately finished off into the goal

The stadium was so quiet for a minute that from our seats in the commentator's booth one could hear jubilant cheers of the guests from the pitch.
But the stadium was silent only for a few moments, and then the noise was increasing in volume, as the fans encouraged their favorites stand fast and build up pressure.

And the favorites did their best. A few minutes later our guys won back one goal. After corner kick Gulbranden acted as an assistant - he caught the ball sent from the corner, and sensibly redirected it to the spot where Valgren already standing, then jumped out from behind the defenders and struck from point-blank distance. The guests tried to protest, claiming that our player was offside, but the replay confirmed the correctness of the referee's decision.

And after a few minutes the score was completely equal, now the authors of the first goal changed roles, after Valgren served an accurate blow, Gulbranden struck, in his favorite recognizable style - crush the defenders and make a powerful shot

Right before the break, our guys created three real chances in a row, but they failed to convert a single one into the tangible benefit of scoring goal.

Such ending of the first half encouraged football fans. In the second half, the fans, of course, were waiting for the continuation and were terribly shocked by what happened - guests
threw the ball forward, and their forward cleverly use it, elegantly pushing past the goalkeeper

But, fortunately, it was not in vain that our guys got bruises and stuffed bumps in international tournaments and learning a lot. They systematically and thoughtfully led the siege of the guests' gates, increasing the pace and pressure, which, it should be noted, was greatly helped by the stands. And soon Gulbranden and Troll forced the Fluvannia defenders make a wrong move, and the result was an own goal after a cross.

And twenty minutes before the end, Valgren managed to extricate himself from the fight with the defenders, keeping the ball and then accurately passing it to Finnsnes, who was left unattended for a second. The goalkeeper reacted to his shot, but the defender who turned up on the way slightly corrected the trajectory and this was enough for the ball to fly past his hands and straight into the net

Have moving from 3-2 to 3-4 in a couple of minutes is experience that rare team was out of unscathed. Fluvannia, nevertheless, sincerely tried to even, altough our lads standing their ground confidently and there was more chances to score for them than conceding goals.

Game was ended with our 4 to 3 victory – and our team take another very important three points. Sum this up: it was important victory in a fight with a stubborn opponent, which – it must be told – our guys seem to have underestimated a bit. Trolleborg national team again managed to climb into first place in the standings, but, frankly, her position still cannot be called solid by any standards. Three out of five games remaining will be played away, with clear favourite of the group visiting at the last day - this hardly does inspire optimism at all. Having said this, we in TTV urge all fans to support the team in away matches, they will really need to get your support.

by **Siovanija and Teusland** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:05 am

The Last Archduke - Part VII

Charlottenberg Canal - January 1, 1894

It had been a bit of a busy morning at the Sanssouci Palace, and Archduke Franz was glad to get away from it all. His mother had been working to keep herself busy, trying not to think about the bombshell he had dropped the night before. The Kaiser had, as of that morning, banned all staff in the palace from talking about the casualty reports - not wanting Isabella to hear the numbers, hear the reality of the place their son was going.

The only one who was acting normal that morning had been Elizabeth, who continued to make fun of her brother over his budding romance.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” she said in a tone that didn’t particularly indicate if she was joking or not.

Franz turned. “Yep.”

“She’s going to be on the first boat back to Prinz-Eugens-Land,” the Archduchess said as she started laughing.

“Very funny. Anyways, I’ll be back later on tonight, I’m sure you’ll want to talk about how this goes.”

“Of course, Franz - can’t wait to hear how you mess it up,” she said with a warm smile that indicated more confidence in her brother than she let on.

Franz chuckled. “We’ll see.”

And here he was, skating on the Charlottenberg Canal alongside Larissa von Ransmayr, the Governor of Prinz-Eugens-Land’s daughter. Of course, their courtship had been pre-arranged by their parents - Franz recalled discussions about who he should marry between his parents from the time he was 14 - but the two had seemed to take an interest in each other.

Franz wasn’t too concerned with the idea of the arranged marriage - but perhaps he was being blinded by the little crush he’d already developed. In his view, the Teus Archdukes and Kaisers had been marrying in the same way for hundreds of years - his mother, Isabella, had been the daughter of the Count of Stahlberg and married off to Heinrich when he was still Archduke. Franz was quite glad that the Dannebergs had left behind the… archaic practice of marrying within the family.

“I’ve never been skating before,” said Larissa.

“It’s quite fun,” replied Franz. For all the time he’d spent thinking of what to say this morning, his mind was quite blank now. “How are you finding Stelburg?”

“It’s very nice. I’ll always prefer Kapstadt, naturally, but I’ve quite enjoyed the city. It’s very cold, I must say.”

“Cold?” replied Franz.

“Back home, it’s considered a cold day if the temperature goes below 15 degrees. It’s -15 today, and you don’t consider that cold?”

“No, I mean, it is cold, but there’s parts of the country that are colder, up in the mountains and that.”

“At least you have that - what is it called, hot chocolate? Yes. It’s very good.”

“Haha, yes, the Stelburger special. Have you tried a Stelburger donut?”

“Yes! They’re very good. Not as good as the ones back home though,” she smiled. “But overall, I can get used to living here.”

The two nodded with each other. That was the strange thing about it - the implication that, no matter what happened today, they would still be getting married. Probably decently soon, too - what could be better for a nation’s morale during wartime than a royal wedding and celebration? At least, that’s what the top political leaders thought. And combine it with a visit by said royals to the bride’s homeland, which was currently seeing the highest desertion rate of all soldiers in the imperial forces? Propagandists in the Imperial Teus Army were salivating.

The good thing was that the two quickly developed a strong chemistry. Larissa was, of course, a noble - so a little cold in her actions. But Prinz-Eugens-Land wasn’t like Teusland. Rather than a palace in the middle of a downtown core, Larissa’s family had a massive house in a rural oceanside setting. That meant much more freedom, and combined with the typical culture of a ‘Dschungel-Teus’ - the nickname given to the Teus colonists in Prinz-Eugens-Land, remarking on the harsh jungle that covered most of the territory - a more laid-back style.

While Franz had stories of riding horses at the various imperial properties, or of the cultural hotbed to be found in Stelburg, Larissa had stories of hikes through the jungle, the bustling urban centre of Kapstadt, one of the most important ports of the Empire, birds and other animals that were totally unknown to Franz except in textbooks. And then there was the accent - one which Dschungel-Teus were often mocked for, and might even be its own different language. But to Franz, it sounded just fine.

It was the type of conversation that only takes a few hours, but makes you feel as if you’ve known the person for years. And by the end of it, they were able to have the discussion.

“So, Franz, tell me, what’s your opinion on this whole situation? Like, the arranged marriage and all.”

“I mean, it’s the way it’s always been done, and I guess I’ve always accepted it. Plus, I’m quite fine with the decision,” he said with a smile. “What do you think?”

“Haha,” she replied, indicating his hint hadn’t come off as confident as he’d thought. “I’ll be honest, I never really liked the idea when I was younger, but I’ve also come to accept it - and my parents made a pretty good choice,” she winked.

The two shared a laugh now, before Larissa spoke up again. “So, I suppose when we get back they’ll be asking us ‘when,’ then?”

Franz smiled - but then remembered that no, there was something in the way of that. Another person to tell of his decision to go to the war. “It might have to wait a bit longer,” he said.

“Oh?”

“I’m going to be joining the military - I’ll be starting training in a few weeks’ time.”

There wasn’t a long pause this time - only a quick reply that proved the two were a perfect match: “You’d better not go off and die on me,” she said with a smile.

Franz just laughed. “I’ll try.” It was the type of dry comment that he wouldn’t hear from anyone else in his life, yet exactly what he wanted to hear.

“Well, I’ll be waiting for you,” Larissa smiled. “But seriously, be safe.” And with that, the pair kissed for the first time. Franz walked her home on the dark Stelburg winter night, as the two continued their conversation. By the time Franz himself made it home, it was already after 11pm - lights out. He made his way up the stairs, where a familiar face was waiting for him.

“So, when does her boat leave? I hear the boats to Kapstadt go out at 4am to avoid the submarines,” said Elizabeth.

“You waited up just to say that? Come on,” laughed Franz.

“Really though, how’d it go?”

“Very good - we’re more than likely going to get married.”

“Before or after?”

“After.”

“You’d better,” Elizabeth said, with Franz left unsure whether she meant the marriage, or coming home in one piece. Either way, the siblings hugged and bid each other guten abend, leaving Franz to try and fall asleep, dreaming of what his future would bring.

Siovanija & Teusland 4-2 Turori, @ Nationalstadion, Stelburg, Teusland

Starting XI: Heuser; Steimle (Richter 67'), Klopfer, Jager, Lotbiniere; Kramer, Mihailov (Brotzmann 71'), Bliznakov; Kogler, Tauscher, Ribbeck (Mandl 81')
Goals: Mario Kogler 39', Lukas Tauscher 54', Michael Ribbeck 67', 70'
Man of the Match: Michael Ribbeck

Omerica 2-3 Siovanija & Teusland, @ Arena la Rouge, Port Alexandre, Omerica

Starting XI: Heuser; Steimle, Jager, Thierse, Vesele (Lotbiniere 80'); Kramer, Brotzmann (Mihailov 46'), Bliznakov; Kogler, Tauscher (Romanov 65'), Ilev
Goals: Thorsten Kramer 26', 47', Ivo Romanov 72'
Man of the Match: Thorsten Kramer

Siovanija & Teusland National Football Team
Squad Selection - Qualifiers 14 and 15
Home against Valladares, away to The Holy junta

GK - Ewald Heuser, Anatoli Sveteikov, Dennis Eulenberg
LB - Edgar Steimle, Axel Richter
CB - Karl-Heinz Jager, Erich Thierse, Tristan Niedermayer, Taras Maksimov
RB - Darijen Vesele, Trude Spitz
CM - Thorsten Kramer, Todor Mihailov, Heinrich Bahr
LW - Mario Kogler, Lojze Kokalj
CAM - Leopold Bliznakov, Julian Werner
RW - Lukas Tauscher, Sinisa Gaspersie
CF - Michael Ribbeck, Stanimir Ilev, Krasimir Kynev

Expected Starting XI vs Valladares: Heuser; Richter, Jager, Niedermayer, Vesele; Kramer, Bahr, Bliznakov; Kogler, Tauscher, Ribbeck

Expected Starting XI vs The Holy junta: Sveteikov; Steimle, Thierse, Maksimov, Spitz; Kramer, Mihailov, Werner; Kokalj, Gaspersie, Ilev

by **Silver Commonwealth** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 1:58 pm

SNN Sports

Despite the loss, at least it is not a 0-5 loss against The Holy Empire!

Silver Commonwealth 0-2 The Holy Empire

Alán Belmores 34' I Alexander Ceraluso 68'

''Despite the fact that this game was taking place in home, and SC's team didn't play in Holy Empire's stadium, it seems that SCFA had taken the news about MARG-20 outbreak more seriously this time even if it still wasn't entirely sure what exactly of a disease it was - the disinfectants for hands and other things were issued for the duration of this game and afterwards, some fans in stadium were seen wearing masks, while those from Holy Empire were usually approached by caution, because they wanted to be sure that it isn't spread there by either the footballers or those Holy Empire's fans which went to see the game. The main team which played against Holy Empire for the first time didn't seem to show up signs of infection, so it is assumed that they were healthy and didn't infect others. Some doctors were waiting outside to rush in if someone would show symptoms or collapse on the ground. However, it seems that there were no major incidents in this regard during this game.''

''In first period, SC tried to play defensively in order to try to endure Holy Empire's attacking strategy, as the reserve team seemed to have a bit better experience at playing defensively, and that attempts to score goals against Holy Empire would most likely be stopped very early by its well-oiled defense anyways. There were several dangerous moments in the first period where Alán Belmores came close to scoring a goal, but most of the time the goalkeeper and defenders seemed to have coordinated well at defending. The only time when Belmores had managed to break the goalkeeper and defense during the first period was in 34th minute after a clean shot straight in the left corner of the net, but Ximenes would deny the rest of goal scoring opportunities for the remaining first period. While SC hadn't got as much scoring opportunities against Holy Empire, for a while Danilo Saraiva's offensive in 26th minute seemed hopeful, but got stopped by the defender Jorge Vatatzes.''

''The second period played in largely a similar matter - Holy Empire would be on attacking more, while SC's team would be forced to play defensively, only with occasional attempts of trying to catch a chance of outplaying multiple defenders, which was stopped pretty quickly. The second goal of the game came in 68th minute by forwarder Alexander Ceraluso, exactly 34 minutes after the first goal. Now, the way how Ceraluso scored this was quite interesting - it was actually Alán Belmores who had the ball for most of the time, but Ceraluso had actually closely followed the movement of Belmores, and when Belmores was about to shoot the ball in net, Ceraluso slid in and intercepted the ball before kicking it in the net himself, thus ''stealing'' the goal from Belmores. After that, the goalkeeper Ximenes got scolded by SC's captain and was told to be more careful next time. SC had little if any goal possibilities for the rest of the period, but there were was an one in 82nd minute by Belmores once again, but the goalkeeper barely managed to reflect it with his hand. And so the end result was 0-2.''

''Although the score was a loss for SC's team, several of SC's fans in heart still felt like victors due of the fact that unlike in the first game, the team performed better in defense than expected, and Holy Empire scored only two goals if compared to five. Such cautious congratulations were given out by the other club managers and football fans in other parts in SC as well, including SC's Brazil. When being asked questions about the match, Enrico summed it up pretty laconically: ''It could have been worse''. That said, disinfection teams and medics still had lots of work on their shoulders, like disinfecting parts of stadium after the game, measuring temperature of some Holy Empire's and SC's fans, performing health checks for SC's football contingent as afterwards measures of possible MARG-20 situation.''

''Next match is going to be against Southwest Eastnorth, but this time our team will be playing with away uniforms. Judging from reports which SCFA has received, the sloppy play of the team might once again deliver a victory for SC's footballers. If so, then it would be even more of an embarrassment for them - losing against an unranked team is one thing, but losing against a reserve team of the unranked team is a brand new level. That said, our players must still remain vigilant and can't relax, as SE could still potentially deliver some surprises.''

SNN Sports

Southwest Eastnorth gets defeated for the second time, the reserve team's first victory.

Southwest Eastnorth 1-3 Silver Commonwealth

Mauro Garcia 8', Van Austin 25', Juliano Medeiros 39' I Leandro Barroso 76'

''When SC's players entered the stadium, they could feel the tension and anxiety in air from Southwest Eastnorth's fans, as some of them stared at them closely (albeit acting neutral), while for others it could be seen that they weren't the most favorite opponents to see, and for a good reason - SC was one of the teams against which SE got a red card for one of its players, and thus was forced to play with numerical disadvantage, along with losing against an unranked team in general. The reserve/now main team knew that the sloppy play from SE was largely due of the death of one of head coaches, but they had no obligations to care about that. In fact, some of SC's players in private conversations said that ''It's not the emotional trauma that's reason for their sloppy play, it's something else, rotten well deep within the clubs themselves''.''

''It seems that the game wasn't off to a great start for the SE - already in the 8th minute the captain and forwarder Mauro Garcia managed to score a goal by using the inattention of defense and goalkeeper. To be fair, Van Austin did indeed score a goal in retaliation for Southwest Eastnorth (And the only goal of SE in this round and game overall) during the 25th minute, but SC soon enough responded with a counter-attack by Juliano Medeiros in 39th minute, which resulted in scoring the second goal for SC in the first period. The result at the end of the period was 1-2 in SC's favor.''

''In the second period Southwest Eastnorth seemed to have got their act together, and played a lot more cautiously/carefully, and did not provide as much scoring opportunities for SC anymore, and even were able to deliver a few close moments of scoring a goal. However, despite SE's best defense, the midfielder Leandro Barroso scored a goal in 76th minute after going out of the mid-formation, and was able to score a goal because the defense against SC's aggressive approach had worn out some of SE's players, including the goalkeeper. SE was still able to keep SC's team at bay for the rest of the second period, though, although in some cases the sloppy play of SC's team itself prevented the usage of several good scoring opportunities. The game ended with 1-3, overall being a downgrade for SE, considering the loss of two point margin if compared to just one point during the first game.''

''After the victory Enrico was content by reserve team's work - they had brought an another victory against SE, and got themselves out of the very bottom of the leaderboard, despite the SC's team's fate still being well in jeopardy. That said, in comparison to the first win against SE, the celebrations of victory back at home were a lot more grounded, and no discounts were given that day in bars, obviously. The police also reported rather calm behavior of SC's football fans back in the cities such as Neo Washington, London, Buenos Aires, etc, and it seemed that it wouldn't be spilling into hooliganism anytime soon. While both of the teams congratulated each other and the SC's team's captain congratulated SE for the game, the SC's fans at stadium didn't hide their content about SE's loss, which in turn seemed to spark irk from SE's fans.''

''Next two matches are going to be against Poafmersia and Sylestone. One thing is for sure - the reserve teams wants to achieve revanche against Sylestone over the main team's loss against a bunch of sentient objects, and settling a score and winning against Poafmersia wouldn't be a bad outcome either, as unlikely as victory might sound, judging from the past plays. This time, both games will be played at home, so perhaps Enrico and the new captain Garcia will have some advantage?''

by **Taeshan** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 3:44 pm

"I think you've been avoiding the question and our real conversation a bit much in our time together, but I get that. I think it's my own turn to side track a little. I think you find it a little hard to deal with all the little things, I wonder if you really knew at times what life was about. You seem to have had these struggles. Why do you think we are here"?

"I think that is a really loaded question."

"It's not much more loaded of a topic than talking about your friends death. I find discussions like this important in tackling the inner problems we face. Our inner fears. Do you think we are here for a reason"?

"The grand we, or the me, we? I think that is a different conversation."

"I'll leave it up to your interpretation."

"I think one of the reasons I was chosen...that I am here was to play football. I played it pretty well. I think I was meant to find my wife, to be a father. I think I struggled to get to her, but in the end was it worth it? Yeah. I have the most wonderful partner in the World, better than I could have imagined. Do I think my trials were big...Yes, but I overcame them. They're different than other peoples but they were mine. Maybe I do have a problem figuring out my post career."

"So what do you think people are here for then"?

"I don't know."

"Do you think anyone does"?

"No."

"So what is your best guess"?

"I think of...hmm, there was a Taeshan national team midfielder. Long time ago, no one probably remembers him...Manny Warren, played in Candelaria and Marquez for a little club called Mayo Valley. Not the greatest national teamer of all time, not the greatest player for his club, but he did everything for them. He built homes for the homeless, he set up charities for local churches, he made his adopted home, a home for more then himself. He met his wife there, he made his family there. I think to him he was here to help, football gave him the platform. His club wasn't great, but he did great things."

"So we are here to help people"?

"I mean isn't that what you are here for? To help your patients. To make me....To help me make sense of everything going on in my life, to help each of your patients...make sense of all of this...all of what life is really"?

Laughing "Well I guess you have me there. So what do you take from that then? What do you take from the example there that you have given me"?

"I mean I think helping people is a noble ambition. I think that would be a great thing to do. I think stuff like charities for diseases, helping out, offering my platform that would help."

"But, is that...your reason for living"?

"I don't know, but I sure hope it will be enough for me to think I'm...I guess I hope...I guess I hope that in doing things we make up for the mistakes we've made before, and for me that is missing on so many...so many opportunities...with my mom...with my dad...with my sisters even, and of course with...I think I have to make up for those in some way right? I have to be the man I couldn't be before, so that say my sons, my daughter, now what the right thing is right? Set an example"?

"Are you asking me? Do you think you need to"?

"Yes."

"Than it's not me you should be asking about this, it's yourself you should be telling."

by **Krytenia** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 4:42 pm

You Can Be Better, Just Not Today
By Rami Niblick in Emberton

TIME is running out on World Cup LXXXVI qualifying, and with it, the sands are potentially ready to engulf the increasingly bleached pachyderm that is Project 87. Thirteen games into the competition, and Krytenia have managed to string two wins together a grand total of once, with their wins over The Jovannic and Darmen back on Matchdays Two and Three.

The thing is, clearly Krytenia are capable of beating the big teams. Their last game, after all, was an important victory over Mattijana. The problem is, as it was at this stage of the first half of qualifying, an inability to turn talent into consistent results. It's always a worry when the big question about your side is whether or not they have that big game mentality. It's something that has been asked of the side in the last two World Cup qualifying campaigns, and the question has still not gone away. Right now, that lies at the feet of the management team. They have the tools at their disposal; it's high time they used those tools to mould a team capable of mixing it with the big boys.

Speaking of big boys, there's few larger than the Dragons' next opponents. Starblaydia make the short trip across the Beck for Matchday Fourteen, having only dropped four points in the group so far. The Men in Mauve gave Krytenia a footballing lesson in Jhanna, emerging comfortable three-nil victors in a match the visitors never looked like winning. Krytenia, put simply, must win the return match. It's not just about the identity of the opposition - though nigh-on two hundred thousand Krytenians packing the rafters of the Isserson would have you believe differently - it's about survival. Yes, it would be great to put one over on the old rivals, though Starblaydia can certainly afford to drop points; if we are to have any realistic chance of qualifying we need five from five. That means not only putting in the performance of a lifetime against Azewyn Feanaro's charges; it also means keeping up the intensity for the trip to Saltstead and beyond.

Jerome Jaffacake-Phillips will know his job is very much on the line right now. After too long in the wilderness, struggling in mediocrity, Krytenia need to make the next step. Another trip to the Cup of Harmony will simply not be tolerated, and neither will embarrassments like the defeat to Rangers FC. I said earlier in the campaign that we need to be more Starblaydi. Put simply, that means putting inferior (and superior) teams to the sword with an efficient ruthlessness. It's time to stop worrying about how we express ourselves on the pitch and start concentrating on getting results. Onward!

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